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Committee reviews Program of Studies changes, new AP courses and a PowerSchool scheduling consultant
Summary
The committee reviewed updates to the Program of Studies, including three new courses (AP Cybersecurity; AP Business, Personal Finance; LEAP gifted seminar), removal of some offerings such as guitar and reduced on-site German, and a recommended PowerSchool scheduling consultant to support building-level scheduling.
The Education Committee reviewed the draft 2026 Program of Studies and several operational supports tied to course scheduling.
Curriculum changes: Staff presented three proposed new courses for the program of studies: AP Cybersecurity, AP Business with Personal Finance, and a LEAP gifted seminar for students with a GIEP. Staff noted AP courses are tightly prescribed by the College Board; the LEAP seminar is a half-credit, pass/fail independent-study style course restricted to students with a GIEP and is intended to support student-led inquiry.
Course removals and language offerings: District staff recommended removing guitar from the music offerings due to persistently low enrollment and phasing out German at the general level (retaining upper-level German 3/4/AP for students who began the sequence, delivered virtually if needed). Staff said American Sign Language had been difficult to staff and required virtual delivery in prior years.
Scheduling support and consultant request: Staff requested approval to contract PowerSchool scheduling support (Aaron Rudy) for an estimated four days at $1,300 per day to assist with building and district scheduling, modelling student-driven schedules and spreading singleton classes efficiently. Staff said the work is intended to build district capacity, not reduce staffing. "This would be money well spent," the presenter told the committee.
Other operational notes: Committee members asked for measures of scheduling outcomes and ways to track whether a data-warehouse change boosts teacher engagement; staff suggested usage metrics, follow-up surveys and monthly building data reviews as possible measures.
Next steps: The Program of Studies updates will be included in the full board packet; the committee will consider the scheduling support request and asked staff to provide additional documentation and to return with implementation examples.
