Okemos High proposes five new courses including AP business with personal finance; board to vote next meeting

Assistant Superintendent Bailey presented five proposed additions to Okemos High School’s course catalog and described the process (teacher proposal → department review → district advisory committee → board consideration). The proposed courses are:

• AP Business with Personal Finance (meets Michigan’s personal‑finance requirement); • AP Microeconomics (meets state economics graduation requirement); • AP Music Theory (open to band, choir and orchestra students); • Strength & Rest (a coeducational PE elective focused on lifelong physical-wellness skills; administration will confirm whether it also satisfies the health requirement); • Trigonometry (a hands‑on math elective targeted to students preparing for precalculus or engineering pathways).

Bailey said each course will be offered in the course catalog and will run only if enrollment warrants staffing. Trustees asked clarifying questions about whether Strength & Rest would satisfy health requirements and whether the class would include practical gym and weight‑room work; Bailey said she would confirm the health‑credit question before the next meeting and that the course will include practical, supervised weight‑room instruction.

Next step: the board will consider these course approvals at its next meeting and staff will confirm the health‑requirement detail for the Strength & Rest elective.