WCS Board Discusses WCHS Curriculum Changes For 2020-21 School Year
WARSAW — The Warsaw Community Schools Board of School Trustees discussed curriculum changes at Warsaw Community High School during a work session on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
WCHS Principal Troy Akers and Warsaw Area Career Center Assistant Director Jill Jackson were both present at the meeting to discuss curriculum changes for the 2020-2021 school year.
Akers described the changes to the high school’s curriculum as minimal, with changes only occurring in science, social studies and health and physical education.
For the high school’s health and physical education department, no new additional classes are being offered in the curriculum. However, a class titled “Sports Studies” will be rotated in. The class was formerly called “Philosophy of Coaching.”
“We’ve never had enough students for it,” said Akers. “They’re changing it up a little bit and are planning to have guest lecturers to assist with that class. It’s going to be a little deeper than just the philosophy of coaching.”
A class titled “Women’s Fitness” will also be removed from the curriculum.
“There was a time when we weren’t seeing a large number of female athletes being willing to go into fitness classes,” said Akers. “It was more of a stigma, I think. And it’s basically interwoven into the different levels of fitness classes that we currently offer.”
The high school’s health department will be offering “Peer Tutoring Science: Elementary Dissection Series.” In the class, high school students will be able to run dissection sessions that occur at Madison and Washington Elementary Schools.
Akers also said some Advanced Placement changes within the social studies department are also being considered.
“We’re counting on a new, revised AP social studies class that will come through the College Board and it may be one where we can have freshmen and sophomores involved,” said Akers. “The issue is with the College Board is that it hasn’t been completely approved yet. We believe that’s going to happen in the early spring or summer.”
Jackson said the changes for WACC’s curriculum mainly focused on name changes for classes in order to be in compliance with what the state requires. A physical therapy class will also be added to the WACC’s 2020-21 curriculum, while a class titled “Medical Terminology Intense” will be removed.
In an update to the board, Jim LeMasters, WCS director of maintenance, buildings and grounds, said plans are still being developed regarding the future of the adult education section of Gateway Education Center. The center will be closing at the end of the 2020 school year.
In other business, the board also held an organizational meeting prior to the beginning of the work session. For 2020, school board officers remained the same, with Heather Reichenbach as president, Randy Polston as vice-president and Jeremy Mullins as secretary.
The board’s next regular meeting session will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20.