Naperville 203 board hears broad high-school course overhaul, plans April vote on recommendations

Jane Willard, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, presented recommended high-school course additions and removals at the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board of Education meeting on April 7, 2025, asking the board to consider action at its April 21 meeting.

The administration proposed adding a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) engineering sequence — Principles of Engineering, Civil Engineering and Architecture, and a PLTW capstone — plus new social-studies electives (Criminal Justice; Modern American History through Media; Taking Action: Issues and Solutions) and a semester course in officiating for physical education. The administration also recommended splitting PE 2 into three specialized sophomore tracks (Studio Wellness; Strength and Performance; Competitive Team Sports). Several current courses would be removed beginning in the 2026–27 school year, including World Cultures (to be replaced by Cultural Anthropology for freshmen), Legal Issues in America (to be replaced by Criminal Justice), Humanities 1/2 (merged), Peace and Conflict (replaced by the new Taking Action course), Painting 2 and others cited as having declining enrollment.

Willard said the changes follow a year-long course-audit and departmental visioning process intended to align courses to Illinois learning standards, industry trends and student interest. The administration cited a student survey of more than 2,300 Naperville Central and North students (92 percent response) to justify elective priorities and reported enrollment declines that prompted proposed removals: about a 30 percent decline in World Cultures enrollment at the freshman level, a roughly 60 percent drop in Humanities 1/2 over three years, and a 50 percent decline in Peace and Conflict over four years.

Board members questioned how dual-credit partnerships and staffing would work. Willard said dual-credit alignment is part of course development: after courses are written, staff will seek agreements with postsecondary partners to pursue early-college credit. "So it's absolutely part of the course development process, and we're doing that with all of our courses now because we do value that dual credit," Willard said. On staffing, the administration said changes take effect for the 2026–27 staffing cycle and that staffing decisions will depend on fall registration and enrollment.

Board members asked how content from retiring courses would be preserved. Willard said overlap is reviewed case by case; for example, material from Legal Issues in America informed the new Criminal Justice course, and duplicate topics (such as business-law material) are evaluated to avoid redundancy. The administration highlighted work-based learning and dual-credit opportunities within the new PLTW and CTE offerings, and said department chairs have been developing work-based challenges and capstone experiences as part of pathway endorsements.

Board members raised concerns about access and equity (for example, whether 0-hour programs could disadvantage students who rely on bus transportation) during other agenda items; the presenters reiterated that course additions will be implemented over several years to allow staff training and iteration.

The board did not take a final vote on the course package on April 7; administration asked for board approval to move the written course proposals forward at the April 21 meeting so courses can be finalized for implementation in 2026–27.

The board will receive the full course-writing documents and dual-credit outreach results prior to any final adoption vote.