The board originally discussed the courses at its Nov. 15 meeting with Logan Faris, executive director of secondary education. One of the major changes is that the district will begin to phase out its French and German language courses.
Board President Anne Davis-Simpson had concerns with this change at the Nov. 15 meeting, saying she was “disappointed” that the move would limit language options to only Spanish, American Sign Language and computer science.
“I hate to see us narrow world language offerings, particularly when we have mission statements that talk about [being] global and the culture of learning,” Davis-Simpson said at the Nov. 15 meeting. “I just don't see how this fits.”
Faris said the reason behind phasing out French and German courses is because French and German classes are hard to staff and tend not to have enough students sign up.
However, at the Dec. 13 meeting, Superintendent Ryder Warren said he “committed” to Davis-Simpson that they would continue to explore world language options.
“[Faris] has a plan in place—both short-term and long-term—to look at those kinds of opportunities,” Warren said.
With the Dec. 13 approval, the district will also be adding and dropping other classes. Three core courses will be added, including independent study in English, a dual-credit science course and multivariable calculus with Level 4 weight, according to Faris’ presentation.
Due to new state guidelines, some of the physical education courses will be altered, Faris said. The course Aerobic Fitness: Body Works will be dropped, and Foundations of Personal Fitness will be dropped and replaced with Lifetime Fitness and Wellness Pursuits. Individual/Team Sports will be dropped and replaced with Skills-Based Lifetime Activities, and Outdoor Education will be dropped and replaced with Lifetime Recreation and Outdoor Pursuits.
“I do think sometimes the state is just compelled to rename things, but we are on top of this and prepared to move forward,” Faris said at the Nov. 15 meeting.
Multiple career and technical education courses will also be dropped or added. Welding 1 will be dropped along with Blueprint Reading, which will be replaced with Principles of Manufacturing and Manufacturing Engineering Technology I, according to the presentation.
OnRamps Computer Science will be dropped and replaced with Computer Science 3. Interior Design 1 will be dropped and replaced with Architectural Design 1 and Architectural Design 2, the presentation stated. An Accounting 2 course will also be added for those in the Business Management and Entrepreneurship Academy.
New dual-credit courses will also be added, including Introduction to the Teaching Profession, Intro to Special Populations and Practicum of Early Learning Internship. Tarrant County College will also offer a stars and galaxies course and a solar system course for dual credit, according to the presentation.
James M. Steele Early College High School will also offer a variety of new courses for students to get dual credit, including Intermediate Spanish 1, Intermediate Spanish 2, Theater Appreciation, Biology for Non-Science Majors and Biology for Non-Science Majors 2.
