Ms. Faulkner presented the first reading of revisions to the St. Mary's County Public Schools high‑school Program of Studies and told the board a public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22 with final review and possible approval on Feb. 5.

The proposed changes include course additions, name changes, grade‑band expansions, prerequisite and description updates, a small number of deletions, and new repeated‑credit options. New course requests highlighted by Ms. Faulkner include 3D animation and video‑game design (to be offered at the tech center next year) and a 9th‑grade literacy lab intended as a full‑year, full‑credit support course for students needing extra ELA instruction. Ms. Faulkner also described a “Freshman English SR” course as a 10th‑grade recovery option for students who did not pass freshman English.

Ms. Faulkner said the Program of Studies committee reviewed proposals submitted in 2024 and now includes 37 active members drawn from central office staff, principals, teachers, students and parents. “This is our first reading,” she said, and detailed that course proposals come from teacher teams, counselors, content supervisors and sometimes parents and students.

Board members and Ms. Faulkner discussed several specifics asked during the presentation. Board members asked that the 3D animation/video‑game design course note explicitly in the course description that it will be available at the tech center for the coming year. Ms. Faulkner agreed to verify and to update the course description accordingly. She also confirmed the 9th‑grade literacy lab would be a full credit and that the Freshman English SR is intended as a 10th‑grade recovery course paired with CCR (college and career readiness) seminar content.

Other proposed changes summarized by Ms. Faulkner:
- Course name changes: American Literature B would be renamed English 11: Transition to College and Career Readiness to make its support purpose clearer.
- Grade‑band and access changes: offer Advanced Placement U.S. History to grades 10–12 (currently listed for 12th grade only); allow CCR Seminar to be used across grades 9–12 where appropriate; expand Digital Audio and Podcasting from grades 10–12 to 9–12 and note its possible use for fine‑arts graduation credit.
- Course structure: split American Literature and British Literature into separate year‑long courses to align with instructional materials and allow added novel study options.
- Course deletions and consolidation: remove English 990 (not run in recent years) and consolidate Guitar 1/2 into a single repeated‑credit “Guitar” offering to permit repeated elective credit rather than sequential numbered levels.
- Description and content updates: revise photography course wording to remove the adjective “current” and update digital art course descriptions to reflect rapidly changing tools. JROTC (Air Force) course descriptions for years 1–4 would be revised to align with program expectations.
- Repeated credit additions: add Wellness Walking (half credit) to the repeated‑credit list and allow it to be taken across semesters for repeated elective credit.

Ms. Faulkner said the Program of Studies committee meets throughout the year and that detailed materials and course descriptions were uploaded to BoardDocs for board and public review. She told the board the next steps are a public hearing on Jan. 22 and a return for board action on Feb. 5 to finalize the 2025–26 Program of Studies in time for course scheduling in March.

Board members asked follow‑up questions about staffing and access: whether particular courses would be available only at the tech center during a pilot year and how the district plans to expand offerings to comprehensive high schools (training and staffing were cited as the main constraints). Ms. Faulkner said staff will work with supervisors and the tech center to identify teacher training and placement and will return with more detail in February.

No final board vote was taken at this meeting; the presentation was a first reading.