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Board committee advances high‑school and middle‑school program‑of‑studies changes, adds courses and adjusts credits
Summary
Administrators proposed and the committee moved forward changes to the high‑school and middle‑school programs of studies, including three new high‑school courses (creative writing, History of the Information Age, IB Music SL), credit and name changes, and three new middle‑school encore electives; motions to forward both program changes were seconded in committee.
High‑school and middle‑school administrators presented proposed changes to course offerings and crediting at the Owen J. Roberts SD working session on Jan. 12, 2026.
At the high‑school level, Dr. Slade outlined three new courses to be added to the program of studies: a semester‑long online creative writing course (half credit) in which “students will write creative non‑fiction, fiction, poetry, and drama,” a semester in‑person social studies course, History of the Information Age (half credit), and IB Music SL (year‑long, one credit) intended to broaden access to the district’s IB music offerings. Administrators also described adaptations to meet a forthcoming state personal‑finance graduation requirement (new or reweighted courses), renamed several “CP” (college prep) courses to reduce redundancy, split one cyber/tech course into two different offerings to add an academic component, adjusted dual‑enrollment weights for additional electives, and converted several PE courses from 0.25 to 0.5 credits per semester for scheduling efficiency. Ecology will move from fully online to a hybrid every‑other‑day format.
Administrators said some under‑enrolled or misaligned classes—specifically an IB math one/two sequence and a drama course—would be removed because they did not fit current sequencing or lacked sustained student subscription. Dr. Slade and other administrators emphasized that core graduation requirements (including the new personal‑finance requirement) remain a priority when deciding which electives run each year.
At the middle‑school level, staff proposed three new encore/elective semester courses—career exploration, nutrition and food preparation (FCS‑aligned), and multimedia productions (digital publishing, video, on‑camera skills and studio basics)—designed to expand student options and help guide future course selection. Administrators discussed certification requirements (FCS, counseling, or communications certifications depending on the course) and typical minimum section sizes (about 10) to run a section.
Motions to move both the high‑school and middle‑school program‑of‑studies items to the full board were made and seconded in committee; those items will appear on the January board agenda for formal consideration.
