Sun Prairie district approves 24 course modifications for 2026-27, clarifies PE and finance requirements

Sarah Chatterclarity, director of secondary for teaching, learning and equity for the Sun Prairie Area School District, presented an overview of the district's annual process to modify courses and said an administrative review approved 24 total course modifications that will be reflected in the 2026-27 course guides.

"There were 24 total course modifications that were approved," Chatterclarity said, listing two course additions and multiple revisions, replacements and deletions. The additions include a math course she identified as "Integrated Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning" and a social studies course whose title appears in the transcript as "education and accent" (the transcript title is unclear), she said.

The district recorded 13 course revisions intended to improve clarity, scope or sequencing; three cases where new courses replace existing ones (including an AP Precalculus option replacing a standalone Precalculus course); two title changes to better reflect learning outcomes; and two deletions of courses cited as having consistently low enrollment and not having run for at least three years, Chatterclarity said.

Chatterclarity also described two changes tied to state graduation requirement shifts. She said Act 60 mandates a 0.5 standalone credit in personal finance that takes effect for the class of 2028; the district added that course to the guide now to support planning. "It does not begin until the class of 2028 is at graduation, but we knew it's important to have now in the course guide for planning," she said.

On physical education, Chatterclarity relayed guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction that PE courses may be offered for PE credit only once; if a student enrolls in the same PE course multiple times, they will receive PE credit the first time and elective credit for subsequent enrollments. She said students still need 1.5 PE credits for graduation and 10 elective credits overall.

To help students and families understand the changes, the district plans to publish unified 6-8 and 9-12 course guides (shared beginning at winter break), embed department charts and sequencing flowcharts, add short teacher-created videos for each course, and host an in-person and digital course expo in January. Counselors will present in classrooms and use the district's SP30 advisory sessions to help students build and revisit four-year plans; eighth-graders will begin four-year blueprints that are revisited in subsequent years, Chatterclarity said.

Chatterclarity framed the updates as strengthening the district's grades 6-12 program and expanding coherent pathways. She invited board members to raise questions at the board's upcoming meeting on Nov. 24.

The presentation did not record a formal board motion or vote on these items; Chatterclarity described administrative approvals and said the changes are captured in the district's course modifications chart and course guides.