The Latin program at Lincoln High School in San Jose is in periculum.

That's ``danger'' for those not fluent in the ancient tongue of the Old World. The potential loss of the course is both a reflection of shifting linguistic values and the reality of shrinking budgets, declining student enrollment and the emphasis on core classes.

At Lincoln High, it's also a matter of figuring out how to replace the Latin teacher, Janet Miller, who is leaving her post after 13 years.

``The parents are freaking out,'' said Principal Chris Funk, who posted a statewide job ad last week looking for a qualified Latin instructor for the fall. ``There are very few public schools that offer Latin. It's always been a selling card for us. But you have to be able to sustain it. The AP class has four kids.''

Funk said if he's able to find a replacement, he will keep the program. Otherwise, Latin will be gone.

Lincoln High, an ``academic, visual and performing arts magnet,'' is the only school in the San Jose Unified School District to offer Latin, though a handful of other schools in the valley offer it. The rigorous course has been a longtime academic draw for the economically and socially diverse school set in the affluent Rose Garden neighborhood.

``It's really helped me in school,'' said Katie Mielke, 14, who is taking Latin this year and said her grandmother took it in high school, too. Her family is part of a grass-roots group trying to keep the course alive. ``I find myself saying, `Hey, look! I know that word.' I think it's really neat.''

Within Silicon Valley public schools, Los Altos High School and Menlo-Atherton High School also offer Latin. And the Palo Alto Unified School District has listed Latin in its annual catalog for the past 10 years, officials said, but has never had enough interested students to actually offer the class.

Many private schools boast that they teach Latin, including Bellarmine College Preparatory and Valley Christian High School in San Jose, and Veritas Christian Academy in Campbell. Other private schools such as Harker Academy in San Jose, the all-girls Castilleja School in Palo Alto, and Menlo School in Atherton offer it, too.

Latin, the language of ancient Christian teachings, is considered a ``dead language'' because it isn't spoken. It has not been popular in public school for at least a decade. In 1997, nine classes were offered in Santa Clara County, according to records from the state. Last year, there were seven.

``When I was in high school, and I'm almost 50, you needed Latin if you were going to go into pharmacy, science or law,'' said Tina Jung, spokeswoman for the California Department of Education. ``But now, right or wrong, there's more emphasis on math and English so that kids can pass the standardized exam.''

Language popularity in public school ebbs and flows. In the 1960s after the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik, Russian was the hot language. In the 1980s, American students rushed to learn Japanese to compete in the world market. In the 1990s, schools around the country, especially in the Bay Area where there is a large Chinese population, began offering Mandarin. After the Sept. 11 attacks, a smattering of high schools began offering Arabic. South Asian languages, such as Hindi and Punjabi, are also increasingly becoming of interest.

But to discard Latin is short-sighted, supporters say.

``To be quite frank,'' said Miller, the Latin teacher who is taking a job as vice principal of curriculum at a private school, ``it's symptomatic of the erosion of academics in general.''

Each year, Miller asks her freshmen why they signed up for Latin instead of French or Spanish.

``Some say they want the challenge, or they want help in medical or legal careers,'' she said. ``Or they know it greatly strengthens their English skills. Others say it's an academically driven class and it looks good on their transcripts.''

Xochitl Lopez, 15, didn't really want to take Latin. She wanted to take a ``fun elective,'' such as ballet or piano, instead. But, at her parents' urging, she signed up for it anyway. Now she's thankful she did, attributing not only her good grades in French, Spanish and English to Latin, but her A-plus in biology -- a subject rife with difficult words from Latin. She also said she has a better understanding of history and government -- a result of learning about ancient Rome in the class, too.

``Latin is a priority in my life,'' Xochitl said. ``Not only do I learn basic vocabulary, I learn mythology and fun facts.''

Her family, along with others, lobbied eighth-graders at Hoover Middle School this year with pins that said ``How Much Latin Have You Used Today?'' to drum up interest for next year's incoming freshmen class. While there are often enough students to meet the minimum 25-student class level on the first day of class, many drop out after a week or two, school officials say, when they realize how tough Latin is. This year, 50 Lincoln High students enrolled in Latin, but they studied in a combined-level class -- beginners and advanced learners sharing the teachers' attention.

Guillermo Lopez, a truck driver, and his wife, Rebecca, a dispatcher, have been among the most passionate supporters of the program, calling it an ``academic gem'' in an eloquently phrased plea to the principal. They're especially grateful that their daughter can take such a rigorous course and not have to pay hefty fees at a private school to learn it.

Rebecca Lopez has been working behind the scenes, consulting with Latin experts on how to save the class and giving the principal a book on ancient Rome as a gift to persuade him that Latin is a class with many layers of benefits.

``It encompasses so much,'' Rebecca Lopez said. ``It's not just an ancient dead language.''