Some of Blue Valley’s current classes offered to its high schoolers may soon look a little different, including the addition of two new courses for the district’s fire science program.
Driving the news: The Blue Valley school board on Monday reviewed several high school course proposal changes for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
Below is a look into the potential course changes that could take place at the beginning of next school year.
Symphonic Marching Band Percussion: Requested by the high school band directors, this new addition would be a repeatable, fine arts elective that focuses on percussion work for students in grades 9-12.
- Blue Valley Executive Director of Curriculum Kelly Ott said the addition would continue to be “nested” in the existing marching band course, so it would not be a separate class if approved.
Special Topics Computer Science: This new course would replace the district’s current Advanced Web Design class, and would be a repeatable, technology elective for grades 11 and 12.
- With the change, students would need fewer electives to enroll in the proposed course. Plus, teachers would be allowed to recommend “high-achieving” students take the course without having the necessary prerequisites.
- Additionally, the content within the course will remain similar but with updated options for more personalized projects.
Honors Chemistry: Teachers also asked for a prerequisite change that would allow them to recommend a student either enroll or stay enrolled in Honors Chemistry despite the student’s other course work.
- One way for students to be enrolled in Honors Chemistry is to take Honors Algebra II at the same time.
- Ott said there have been several situations in which a student, who is concurrently enrolled in the two courses, decided to take a step back into regular Algebra II, which automatically pulled them out of Honors Chemistry too no matter how well he or she was doing in the class.
Medical Terminology: This course addition would be a new class meant for students enrolled in the district’s fire science program to help them learn to identify medical terms. By adding this course, the district can tap into additional funding from the state education department.
- The course would emphasize defining medical prefixes, root words, suffixes and abbreviations, with a primary focus on developing both oral and written skills in the language used to communicate with the health care profession.
- The addition of the course is the result of an Emergency & Fire Management Pathway review conducted by the Kansas State Department of Education.
Introduction to EMS: Another course addition for students in the fire science program, this course would provide students with knowledge of the history of modern emergency medical services in the U.S.
- For the new course, students would be provided with background knowledge of EMS in three areas:
- background and history of modern EMS,
- an introduction of medical terminology and anatomy and physiology,
- and an introduction to patient assessment and care in emergency settings.
- The course addition is also a result of the same pathway review conducted by the state education department.
What’s next in Blue Valley’s course proposal process
The school board is set to officially vote on the course changes Dec. 16.
- If approved, the district will spend time this spring updating and revising the new curriculum based on feedback from the board, teachers and staff.
- District staff will present an updated curriculum to the board in May before the changes are officially implemented the following school year.
