Board reviews proposed high‑school course and program changes for 2025–26 including academic honors, AP prerequisites, CTE updates and world‑language refinings

The Catalina Foothills Unified School District Governing Board received a first reading of proposed high‑school course and program revisions for the 2025–26 school year. Cheryl Castro, executive director of curriculum and assessment, presented the proposed changes.

Key curriculum and program highlights presented as a first reading:

- Academic letter (honors) program: Eligibility would be determined by averaging a student’s first‑semester and second‑semester GPAs in the academic year for grades 9–11, rather than the prior cross‑semester method. New recognition levels (blue award for weighted GPA 3.75–3.99 and silver award for 4.2 and above) were clarified. Seniors remain eligible based on cumulative GPA across prior semesters; the high school plans to notify students in summer and hold recognition at the start of the following school year. Castro said the change was meant to reduce confusion and better recognize freshmen performance.

- Advanced Placement prerequisites: Proposed revisions set a benchmark of a B (or better) in the second semester of prerequisite courses for success in AP social studies courses. The AP prerequisites list was also expanded to include recently approved courses such as AP Psychology, American Law and Justice, and Perspectives on Modern History as possible prerequisites. Board members discussed whether rubric scores or letter grades should be used in guidance and noted flexibility and counselor discretion for exceptions.

- Career and Technical Education (CTE): The proposal adjusts certification requirements tied to PCC/JTED partnerships, adds an SARCEF fair participation requirement for advanced biotechnology, adds Python and Java certification lines for AP computer science courses, reduces the digital photography lab fee from $80 to $60 (cited as reflecting lower supply costs), and opens yearbook enrollment to freshmen and sophomores (district staff noted current enrollment is low and raised questions about scheduling and capacity). Sports medicine internships will require students to purchase district‑branded scrubs through an external vendor (estimated $40) and staff said they will add the item to the fee schedule for the second reading.

- World languages: Course descriptions were refined to align proficiency targets and to include culture and access outcomes; changes were made to Chinese course reading‑level expectations and to AP Chinese wording to align with College Board descriptors. The proposed language also retains a “summer experience abroad” option if interest returns; staff said earlier programs varied in length (example cited: roughly 10–12 days in country for one prior trip) and will depend on a travel vendor if run. Board members raised equity and cost questions about summer programs (Amigos and other service‑immersion trips), and staff agreed to return with clarifying details on trip length, grades eligible to participate, and approximate parent costs if the trip is offered.

Castro and district staff emphasized that many changes are clarifications, alignment with external certification partners (PCC/JTED/College Board), or minor fee adjustments; no action was requested tonight beyond the first reading. The item will return for a second reading with additional clarifications on rubric/grade equivalencies, fee scheduling for vendor charges, and operational details for yearbook scheduling and summer programs.

Ending: Staff will provide an updated draft addressing board questions and revenue/fee implications at the next board meeting’s second reading.