Board approves dozens of secondary course additions and changes, expands health and career pathways
Summary
Farmington High School proposed about 20 course changes for 2026'27, including expanded health-science pathways (CNA, EMT pending), concurrent-enrollment options and new AP/Spanish offerings; the board approved the package by voice vote.
The Farmington School Board approved a slate of secondary course changes and additions for the 2026'027 school year after a presentation by Principal Ryan Meyer.
Meyer said roughly 20 course proposals were before the board, 11 of which include concurrent-enrollment or industry certifications. He described a purposeful strategy to expand health-science and educational-services pathways aligned with local labor demand and college-credit partnerships. "We got about 20 course proposals here that I'm gonna start with," Meyer said, adding that the district has been working with Inver Hills and other partners on proposed EMT and EMR capstone options (both pending budget approval).
Meyer highlighted other changes: a bundled health-science pathway that includes CPR/first aid, medical terminology and CNA training; an AP environmental-studies course to replace honors geoscience; an introduction-to-statistics option through concurrent enrollment with Southwest Minnesota State University; expanded Spanish 4-5 offerings to keep students on campus for advanced language study; and new electives such as ACT prep and consolidated media and 3-D printing courses.
Board members asked about costs and staffing for certification courses, how AP freshmen performed and why some course link materials were posted to the public agenda only the morning of the meeting. Administration responded that CPR/first-aid expenses can be covered within current pathway budgets, recent Perkins funding added mannequins and that AP human geography had decent results (presentation noted 85 tests with 56 students scoring 3'5). Principal Meyer committed to improving public access to supporting materials and said he maintains a publicly viewable shared folder for course descriptions.
A motion to approve the secondary course changes for the 2026'027 school year was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; the transcript records affirmative responses but does not give an exact tally.
What to expect next: Course implementations that require additional budget or partner approvals (for example, EMT/EMR) will proceed through the district budget process. Administration said some pending offerings are contingent on staffing and final budget approval; the district will return to the board if further budget decisions are required.
Sources: Presentation and Q&A with Principal Ryan Meyer; Superintendent remarks and board discussion.
