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Instructional Committee moves to consolidate low-enrollment web and CNC courses, forwards deletions to full board
Summary
The committee advanced three career-and-technical course deletions — Web Design for Business, Web Tools and Intro to CNC Machining — to the full board for final approval, saying core skills will be preserved in repurposed or existing classes to improve enrollment and modernize offerings.
The Wallingford Board of Education Instructional Committee on Nov. 4 moved three career-and-technical education course deletions to the full board for final approval, citing low enrollment and a district plan to preserve key skills in other classes.
Mister Roman, the district’s career and technical education coordinator, told the committee the Web Design for Business course "hasn't run over the past couple years," and that its HTML and layout concepts will be integrated into a repurposed Digital Imaging and Web Design class in the tech-ed department. Roman said the change is intended to modernize the curriculum and consolidate offerings to boost enrollment.
Roman described the district’s Web Tools course as "a very broad class" that has run only once in eight years with very low enrollment, saying much of its content is now embedded across other classes. He recommended removing the separate listing from the course catalog so students are not overwhelmed by too many low-demand options.
On manufacturing instruction, Roman said Intro to CNC Machining also ran only once in eight years and that advanced CAD coursework has already incorporated many of the CNC concepts and smaller mills needed to give students exposure. He confirmed the district has trained staff to operate and maintain the machines, noting that "Mister Czarnacki is, was well trained" and knows how to program and maintain the equipment.
Each proposed deletion was advanced by consensus during the Instructional Committee meeting and will be presented to the full board for final approval. The committee did not adopt final policy changes at this meeting; it forwarded the catalog changes for the regular board agenda.
The committee discussion included questions about current enrollment in computer-science offerings. Roman said AP Computer Science at Sheehan had "around the 15 mark" and that a regular Python class observed that day had "about 14" students present, and added that enrollment numbers are cyclical year-to-year.
Next steps: the deletions will appear on the full-board agenda for formal action; the district staff will retain core instructional standards while updating course catalogs to reflect the consolidation.
