The District 233 school board approved nine new courses at the Nov. 15 meeting that will be available to Homewood-Flossmoor High School students, some starting next year.
Several classes will be part of the Pathways Program designed to get students ready for career paths after graduation.
The Introduction to Education class will be open to juniors and seniors who are interested in pursuing a role in education. The class is classified a foundations course and will be available for dual credit through Lewis University. Topics will focus on successful educators, practices beyond education and effective assessment and data practices. The course will begin in the 2023-24 school year.
A Restaurant Management course will help boost the curriculum of the culinary program. Students will apply food safety and sanitation practices as they learn and use restaurant equipment to prepare quantity dishes for foods catering events.
The start date was pushed back to 2024-25 in keeping with the planned opening of an updated commercial kitchen. Construction of the space is expected to start in summer. This will have a dual credit option in conjunction with Joliet Junior College.
The math curriculum will now include an honors section of AP PreCalculus, which was described as a course that will unify the concepts of geometry, algebra and trigonometry. Members of the board’s Planning Committee voiced concerns about the difficulty of calculus and how many students struggle with the course or drop it. This PreCalculus course should help students and still give them a calculus credit, said Jen Hester, director of curriculum. This course will begin in 2023-24.
Three new PE/health classes are being added for the 2023-24 curriculum. A Pre AP Dance class will be an honors level course offering juniors and seniors a chance to study creative works and then produce their own works or performances.
The Freshman Health/Strength & Performance classes will give freshmen the chance to improve strength training, speed, agility and flexibility using free weights and/or body weight. The health component focuses on developing emotional, mental, social and physical health.
For sophomores, the Strength & Performance class will offer the same option without the health component of the freshman class.
The board approved three new science courses: Anatomy and Physiology (honors), Astro-Physics and Industrial Physics. These are all targeted for the 2024-25 school year when the new Science wing will be completed.
Hester said students interested in the health professions will likely find the Anatomy and Physiology course helpful. She classified it as part of the Pathways Program to support the medical field. The course will focus on the human body and will include laboratory investigations.
The Astro-Physics class for juniors will be an introductory physics class investigating earth science/geology and space science/astronomy. Concepts of motion, force, energy and waves will be examined through the lens of terrestrial and celestial phenomena.
The Industrial Physics class for juniors will be a hands-on course melding introductory physics with engineering concepts. The course will act as a survey of traditional physics concepts with students doing major engineering-oriented projects.