Wareham committee approves 2026–27 course catalogue, adds capstone option, AP and ASL expansions

The Wareham School Committee on Jan. 15 approved the district's 2026'27 course of studies, adopting a range of changes administrators said were driven by student surveys and updated state frameworks.

Committee members voted to add a capstone graduation option alongside the existing electronic portfolio; administrators said 10 students are currently enrolled in the capstone pilot. "There was a resounding, overwhelming [response] that we wish to continue with the capstone option," Amy Dion, department head, said during the presentation.

The package also adds new Advanced Placement offerings and reconfigures existing sequences. District leaders said AP Precalculus will replace the honors pre-calculus section so all enrolled pre-calculus students will be in an AP-level section; the district reported 67 AP course enrollments this year. The catalog also includes a newly available AP Business course that the administration described as a new College Board offering.

World language and pathway changes include an expansion of American Sign Language (ASL) with the addition of ASL 2 and an eighth-grade language-exploration course intended to expose younger students to ASL, French and Spanish before they choose a language sequence. "We're hoping once kids meet the teacher they may choose French or another language," Christine Thomas, world language lead, said.

The business department is revising course names and creating a marketing career pathway to align with updated DESIE frameworks for Chapter 74 vocational certification, administrators said. Fine arts will gain a print lab course after a donation of a T-shirt press; the library and online programs also showed changes: several older online electives were proposed for removal as outdated and replaced with new online electives such as developmental psychology, Planet Earth and Chinese.

Student representative Emily said students helped vet the course list through surveys and that greater outreach is still needed so peers understand the breadth of offerings. "We have over 100 pages of courses; sometimes students don't realize something we already offer," she said.

Administrators said the changes are modest and intended to broaden options and better match state frameworks and college-level expectations. The committee recorded a motion and vote to approve the course of studies (vote tally not specified in the transcript excerpt). The presentation and votes were part of a broader meeting that also included principal reports, athletics updates and finance items.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve the 2026'27 course of studies: approved (motion recorded at meeting). Vote tally: not specified in transcript excerpt. - Motion to approve bill and payroll warrants: approved (one abstention recorded). - Donations accepted (see separate action): accepted.

The committee indicated the course changes will appear in the district's official course catalog and will be used to finalize student schedules for the coming year.