Nashoba committee hears major revisions to high‑school program of studies, expands dual‑enrollment and changes GPA scale

Nashoba Regional High School Principal Dr. Boynton and her instructional leadership team presented the school’s proposed 2026‑27 Program of Studies to the Nashoba Regional School Committee on Feb. 11, highlighting expanded dual‑enrollment options and changes to course levels and GPA calculations.

The presentation, grounded in the district’s strategic plan and school improvement work, would add dual‑enrollment courses through Middlesex Community College in subjects including math, psychology, forensics and entrepreneurship, enabling more students to earn college credit during the school day. Dr. Boynton said the changes are intended to ‘‘expand access to high‑level coursework’’ and align graduation and competency‑determination language with school committee policy and state expectations.

Committee members asked for context and implementation details. Stavros Andriapoulos, who worked on the innovation pathways alignment, said innovation pathways currently enroll roughly 9%–12% of a graduating class depending on the pathway and stressed that pathway opportunities are intended to be available to students at multiple levels of preparation. The administration said it has created a course‑recommendation tool for counselors and 8th‑grade teachers and plans messaging for incoming families.

A substantial structural change would phase out the district’s previous level names (college prep/accelerated) and instead lead with course titles under a ‘‘core academics’’ model, with step‑ups to honors, AP or dual‑enrollment. The committee was told the change is being phased in by cohort so current students’ GPAs are not adjusted retroactively. Administration and a curriculum leader explained the district is aligning GPA weighting to a UMass‑style scale (core = 4.0; honors +0.5; AP +1.0) and linking new course numbers in PowerSchool to the incoming cohort’s GPA scale.

Other curricular revisions include making US History I a full‑year 10th‑grade course (transition year will have both 10th and 11th graders take full‑year US history) to ensure students meet competency by the end of sophomore year; adding new electives in arts and nutrition sciences; and a Project Lead The Way course on AI. Administrators said some courses will be scheduled on an every‑other‑day cadence to open space in student schedules and better accommodate students who receive services.

Parents and committee members raised concerns about schedule lock‑in for students in pathways (which can limit opportunities to take year‑long electives such as art), the timing of course overrides and add‑drop windows for families, and how leveling changes will affect access to advanced courses. Administration said it will continue to refine the override/add‑drop process, offer an incoming‑freshman curated Program‑of‑Studies version to ease understanding, and solicit student feedback about schedule changes.

The committee did not take a vote; administrators asked for continued feedback and said the team will return with follow‑up information on technical details such as the GPA transition and course numbering. The committee also agreed to discuss school‑choice figures and exit surveys at the regular school‑choice hearing in April.