Some Green Bay area high school students will spend more time learning math and science.
Starting in 2014-15, freshmen and sophomores will be the first group required to earn three credits each of math and science in order to receive a diploma.
Students had been required to earn a minimum of four credits of English, three credits of history, two credits each of math and science and one-and-a-half credits of physical education.
Other requirements will not change.
Local school administrators say they are making adjustments, but many students already take the needed classes.
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Many elective courses that may not be initially thought of as science or math, such as those in food services, engineering or agriculture, could apply. Local districts are reviewing those classes to see if they qualify or may add more.
The new Wisconsin law, known as Act 63, sets the requirements for students graduating in 2016-17, sophomores this year.
The Green Bay School District already required students to earn three full math credits for graduation, according to district spokeswoman Lori Blakeslee.
'We have a wide variety of science courses currently available to our students so that they can fulfill this new requirement,' she said. 'We also provide access to a catalog of online courses that include science options.'
Administrators could create equivalency courses in the areas of family and consumer science and agriscience so that students can learn science content in areas of specialized interest, Blakeslee said.
The Howard-Suamico School District also has been reviewing courses, including those in agriculture, to see if they will qualify as science, according to Director of Teaching and Learning Andrea Thiry-Wenz.
Many students already fulfill the new standards, she said.
'We're in good shape for planning for most of the students,' Thiry-Wenz said. 'Counselors are meeting with students and working with them to make sure they all meet the requirements.
'I think we are going to have to add more hours of classes, but not too much.'
Academic Team member Autumn LeGrave of Luxemburg-Casco High School touches her nose as she participates in a class math contest. (Photo: File/Press-Gazette Media )
In the Pulaski School District, about 85 percent of high school students already meet the new requirements, said Director of Learning Services Jennifer Gracyalny.|
Still, 15 percent of students will need to take additional classes.
Pulaski High School may move to a new scheduling system, in which classes meet in larger lectures once a week and smaller discussion and labs throughout the week. Similar to college scheduling, the change would give students more flexibility in creating schedules and allow them to take more classes.
The Pulaski School Board asked for more information about costs, but encouraged high school staff to move forward with planning.
Oconto School District Superintendent Aaron Malczewski said the high school is hiring a part-time math and science teacher, in part to accommodate additional class sessions.
The De Pere School District did not require students to take three credits of math and science, but most already did, according to Curriculum Director Shelly Thomas.
In Ashwaubenon, high school students already are required to meet the three-credit standard, said assistant superintendent and business director Keith Lucius.
- pzarling@pressgazettemedia.com or follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling
'We want all of our kids to be prepared to go on to college,' he said.
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Entities 0 Name: Green Bay Count: 2 1 Name: Pulaski School Board Count: 1 2 Name: Wisconsin Count: 1 3 Name: Pulaski School District Count: 1 4 Name: Lori Blakeslee Count: 1 5 Name: De Pere School District Count: 1 6 Name: Andrea Thiry-Wenz Count: 1 7 Name: Jennifer Gracyalny Count: 1 8 Name: Green Bay School District Count: 1 9 Name: Blakeslee Count: 1 10 Name: Howard-Suamico School District Count: 1 11 Name: Ashwaubenon Count: 1 12 Name: Thiry-Wenz Count: 1 13 Name: Aaron Malczewski Count: 1 14 Name: Pulaski High School Count: 1 15 Name: Keith Lucius Count: 1 16 Name: Shelly Thomas Count: 1 17 Name: Oconto School District Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/UUPWtE Title: A lesson from South Korea: Student resistance to high-stakes testing Description: Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said repeatedly that the United States isn't as serious about educating its young people as the South Koreans. It's just one of the many things he has said in comparing the U.S. public education system with that of other countries.
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