ROGERS -- There will be a few more choices in the course catalog this year for high school students in Rogers.
The School Board reviewed two dozen changes, including swapping out some courses, reviewing others and adding a few new classes.
At A Glance
School Scores
Administrators reviewed with School Board members a state scoring system that labeled every school in the district — save Eastside Elementary School — as “needs improvement.” School report cards and data can be found at: https://adedata.ark….
Source: Rogers School District
Changes in state requirements spurred some changes while teacher or administrator requests mapped out others, said Robert Moore, assistant superintendent for secondary curriculum and instruction.
One new class is pharmacy technology fundamentals, a class open to juniors and seniors that will teach drug classification, compounding and calculation of drug doses.
Another class, manufacturing production processes, builds on the manufacturing concepts of a class new last year, said Dawn Stewart, secondary curriculum specialist. A grant from the state Career and Technical Education Department purchased equipment for both those classes.
Two sets of classes that will be listed in this year's course catalog are contingent on grants.
Pre-engineering classes that will qualify the School District to partner with Project Lead the Way will make current engineering classes more hands-on, Stewart said. Principles of engineering and introduction to engineering design could lead into specialties in architecture and manufacturing design if the start up grants are approved this spring, Stewart said. If the grant isn't approved, the classes will likely revert to present engineering classes, Moore told the board.
A series of three advertising and graphic design courses will be listed for New Technology High School, but the classes are contingent upon grant approval through the Arkansas Department of Career Education. School administrators try to match career education classes to local business opportunities, Stewart said.
Board members approved changing health classes to a blend of online and in-person class time to meet state requirements. A digital blended learning class is to be offered to all students, beginning with this year's ninth-graders, Moore said.
"The course itself hasn't really changed," he said.
A supportive class for freshmen has been renamed Cornerstone and will be a local only credit. Students who don't meet cutoff scores on the PSAT will be required to take math ready and literacy ready classes. The literacy course will be a local credit.
The board edited graduation and honors requirements for New Technology High School students. Off-campus college classes taken through the school will count toward Advanced Placement requirements. Because of the charter school's small size, not as many Advanced Placement classes are offered, Moore said.
The board also approved a mascot and crest for New Technology High School. The first graduates of the in-district charter school will start their senior year next fall.
School board members also approved joint agreement with the state that would allow them to dispense medication or vaccinations to employees in case of a health emergency.
NW News on 11/19/2014