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Board approves new elective courses including data science and digital sound design
Summary
The board approved first reading of four new high‑school course offerings — data science, introduction to chemical engineering, a Project Lead The Way human‑body systems course, and digital sound design — citing student demand and existing teacher capacity.
District staff presented four new course proposals to the board on May 12 and the board approved the first reading to implement them in the 2025–26 school year.
The half‑credit data science course is designed to sit in Farmington High School's computer science pathway; staff reported 66 student requests for that course. An introduction to chemical engineering (half‑credit) is open to grades 9–12 and had 36 student requests. A full‑year Project Lead The Way human body systems course — the second year of a PLTW biomedical pathway and open to grades 10–12 — had 23 student requests; staff noted PLTW carries opportunities for dual credit with the University of New Haven. Digital sound design (32 student requests) will teach mixing, editing and sound‑engineering techniques using district PC equipment and grant‑funded labs rather than high‑cost Apple hardware.
Staff said the courses stem from a science department program review and that the district has the teacher FTE and budget capacity to offer the new electives. The board voted to approve the first reading and to implement the courses for 2025–26.
