Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves new 2025–26 high-school courses after debate on programming languages
Summary
The West Salem board approved a package of new high-school course offerings for the 2025–26 school year — including AP computer science, dual-credit web programming and career-focused family-consumer courses — after discussion about including industry-standard languages such as SQL and Python.
The West Salem School Board voted to approve a set of new high-school course proposals for the 2025–26 school year on a voice vote after presentations from district curriculum staff and discussion about curriculum relevance.
Justin (speaker 7), who presented the proposals, said the courses are additions rather than replacements and include AP-level computer science, a web-programming course offered for dual credit through Western Technical College, child-development coursework and an introduction to educational practices that may be available for dual credit. “Those new course proposals are turned into Alyssa Harlan, our curriculum director,” Justin said, and the curriculum team evaluated learning targets and need before forwarding them to the board.
Alyssa Harlan (speaker 8), identified in the meeting as the district curriculum director, highlighted the dual-credit arrangement for web programming and the AP course requirements. She said the web-programming dual-credit option is tied to Western’s curriculum, and that AP computer science must teach the topics required by the AP exam.
Several board members pressed for more industry-relevant language in the computer science offerings. One member noted that SQL and Python are widely used in hiring contexts; another said, “Python’s a really big one in the industry” and that SQL is essential as a back-end technology. Justin and Alyssa responded that dual-credit arrangements and AP exam standards shape the current proposals and said they would explore whether SQL or Python could be incorporated either within the Western dual-credit framework or through district-offered sections.
After discussion and an expressed desire among some members to keep courses current with employer needs, a motion to approve the course proposals for 2025–26 was made and seconded; the board voted in favor and the proposals were approved.
The board’s action next directs staff to finalize course assignments and instructor eligibility, including coordination with Western Technical College for dual-credit delivery and with high-school teachers who hold the required credentials.
What’s next: staff will complete scheduling and instructor assignments for the new courses in time for student registration for the 2025–26 school year.
