MADEIRA — Kay Fluharty's love of Latin paid off this month when her Madeira Junior-Senior High School's program was named the outstanding high school Latin program in Ohio.

        The Madeira Latin teacher's program is the 75th recipient of the annual Hildesheim Award from the Ohio Classical Conference, an organization of Latin, Greek and classics college professors and high school teachers.

        “This is an honor because it's people who know my profession,” Mrs. Fluharty said. “This is an award that recognizes the integrity of the program I set up by people who understand what that means. These (advanced placement) scores don't come without a lot of work.”

        Among the opportunities she offers students is travel to Italy and Greece, advanced placement classes, chances for college scholarships, participation in Latin Club, and competition in local and state contests.

        For the past five years, the school has had one of the largest delegations at the Ohio Junior Classical League Convention, even though Madeira is one of the smallest high schools represented.

        Another hallmark of the program is Ms. Fluharty's love of the language. Determined to keep Latin alive, she searched for a way to teach Latin that's appealing to students. She found textbooks that were conversational with characters and story lines.

        “They get involved with the characters. It's like a soap opera,“ she said.

        “If you've got the right textbook and enthusiasm, I think kids will come along.“

        And so they have. Thirty students were enrolled in Latin when Mrs. Fluharty started teaching in Madeira. Eleven years later, 110 students in grades 8 to 12 are enrolled. That's almost one-fourth of the school's enrollment.

        Kate Heisel has taken Latin for five years and attributes her interest to Mrs. Fluharty's energy. “She really engages people to be involved,” the 18-year-old senior said.

        Mrs. Fluharty's enthusiasm teaches students something else.

        “She's really passionate about her job,” said Susie Westrup, a 17-year-old senior in her fifth year of Latin. “She's been a really good role model to find a career. Even though I don't want to go into teaching, I'd like to find a career that I would have as much passion about as she does.”

        The Hildesheim Award comes with a traveling trophy, a three-foot museum-grade replica of a silver vase found near Hildesheim, Germany. The original, which dated back to the Roman era, was destroyed during World War II, increasing the value of this vase.

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