Punxsutawney Area SD proposes three‑pathway high‑school curriculum in draft guide

Dr. Smelko, the district's high‑school administrator, presented a draft 2026–27 curriculum guide that would replace the existing "standard" and "academic" tracks with three pathways: Career Prep, College Prep and Honors/AP Prep.

The proposal, presented as a draft for board review, would allow students to move between pathways by subject area, add career clusters aligned to state classifications, and reintroduce a traditional lab‑based science schedule (credit and a half) to free scheduling space. Dr. Smelko said the change is intended to give students clearer choices tied to post‑graduation plans and to make course selection "more fluid" across subjects.

"There will not be a standard course of study. There will not be an academic course of study. Instead we will have three pathways," Dr. Smelko said, outlining the plan to offer Career Prep, College Prep and an Honors/AP Prep pathway.

Board members pressed for details on how the changes would affect advanced coursework, GPA weighting and class rank. Dr. Smelko confirmed current AP offerings (AP government, AP U.S. history, AP literature, AP calculus, AP biology and AP chemistry) would remain and that an honors Algebra I course will be offered to advanced eighth graders with a 1.2 GPA multiplier applied when the course appears on a high‑school transcript.

"The pathways allow the students the fluidity to move and be in a different pathway for different subject areas," Dr. Smelko said, adding that guidance, counseling and parent outreach would accompany the roll‑out to help students and families navigate scheduling choices.

Administrators said implementation will be phased so upper‑class cohorts are not disadvantaged: current juniors and seniors would remain on the plans they entered under, while the first full cohort to move through the new system will be the class entering high school in the change year. The district will provide fact sheets, video explanations and scheduling sessions for families and counselors.

Board members raised concerns about math placement decisions for students moving from middle to high school and asked for clearer definitions of criteria used to recommend pathway placement. Administrators said counselors will use classroom performance and assessment data to make recommendations and that additional parent engagement is planned during scheduling nights.

Next steps: the board will accept public feedback on the draft, and staff said the guide would appear on the district website and be finalized pending the board vote at the scheduled business meeting.