District puts five new high‑school courses on 30‑day display; merchandising pilot to start at Plainfield East

The Plainfield CCSD 202 curriculum and technology committee voted to move five new high‑school courses to 30‑day public display Sept. 17, recommending the Board of Education later consider final approval. The proposal includes astronomy, interior design, merchandising and manufacturing, residential plumbing and residential electrics; merchandising and several CTE‑adjacent classes will be piloted first in select schools.

Why this matters: those courses expand on‑site career and technical education (CTE) exposure and academic offerings, which district leaders said should increase student access to career pathways and certifications.

Committee materials show merchandising and manufacturing, and the residential plumbing and electrics proposals were written as introductory, on‑site pilot offerings. District staff said Plainfield East will host the Year‑1 merchandising and manufacturing pilot because the school already has much of the required equipment, reducing Year‑1 setup costs. "Year 1 is going to be a much less cost because Plainfield East has that equipment, which is one of the reasons we're piloting it there," said Dr. Kate Morris. The packet shows a Year‑1 pilot cost of $3,880.98 for merchandising at Plainfield East; the district said that figure assumes existing equipment will be used where available.

Staff emphasized purchases of textbooks and larger equipment will be contingent on enrollment. Curriculum staff described an overlapping timeline: courses go on 30‑day display to the public, the Board considers resources for approval in January (then final course approval in March after the 30‑day posting), and actual resource purchases depend on November–January student enrollment counts. "Sometimes that purchase, while it's approved in March, doesn't even happen till May or June because we're taking a look at our numbers," a curriculum director said.

The committee also discussed how the new plumbing and electrics classes relate to existing programs at Wilco (the regional career center). District staff said the on‑site offerings are intended as foundational, introductory courses to increase exposure so students who like the work may later pursue extended training at Wilco. "These are foundational level introductory courses. Our goal with these courses is not to replace any courses that are taking place at Wilco. They are to expose students to the foundational level course," staff said.

Committee members asked about funding language in the course packet; staff said an entry that listed "gift and donation" for merchandising was an error and will be corrected to show grant funding (CTE grant) where applicable. The package will move to a Board meeting for full‑board action after the 30‑day display period.