What's new in your kid's course catalog
Clear Creek Independent School District plans to offer a handful of new courses next year.
Approved by the CCISD board this week, they'll appear in the 2010-2011 course catalog that middle and high school students will receive this spring, but they'll only be offered if at least 15 students sign up:
Spanish 1A and 1B. Intermediate students can currently take Spanish I for high school credit, but the class is taught at a high school level. Intermediate students who want to go at a slower pace will now be able to take Spanish 1A their first year, then Spanish 1B their second year and receive one year of high school credit for taking both years. More ambitious students will still be able to take Spanish I at the faster pace for a year of high school credit.
Pre-AP versions of Latin 1 and Latin 2. Available in grades 9-12 at all high schools. Currently the more advanced pre-AP classes are offered only in the third year of Latin and up.
Pre-AP versions of Chinese 1 and Chinese 2. Available in grades 9-12 at all high schools. Currently the more advanced pre-AP classes are offered starting with the third year of Chinese (actually Mandarin Chinese).
"Two-Way Immersion" versions of sixth-grade Social Studies and Language Arts classes taught entirely in Spanish. Available only at Clear Creek Intermediate School for kids who have been taking such immersion classes at McWhirter Elementary. Immersion classes start in kindergarten and are made up of both English speakers who want to be fluent Spanish and Spanish speakers who want to be fluent in English.
Construction Math. Designed for at-risk math students in eighth grade, this semester-long elective is for students also taking the classes Target Math (for kids failing TAKS Math) and Exploring Construction Technology I (better known as Shop Class).
The American Civil War. Available in grades 11-12 at Clear Springs High School.
CCISD spokeswoman Elaina Polsen said the new classes won't require hiring of any new teachers, since courses -- old and new -- that don't attract the minimum number of students will be dropped.
Because of budget contraints, she said the only teacher positions added next year will be to accommodate enrollment growth and to meet state requirements that high schoolers take four years of math and science.
