Lyons Township High School Proposes Curriculum Changes for 2014-15

The Lyons Township High School District 204 Board of Education will vote Nov. 18 on proposed curriculum changes for the 2014-15 school year. 

The board discussed the changes, which range from new course descriptions to new courses altogether, at their October board meeting. Proposals are presented with priority given to those that focus on board goals, according to LT.

View the complete list of the curriculum change proposals above or here.

Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education released its annual report cards for Illinois schools. 

In a Chicago Sun-Times report listing the top 50 schools in the state based on standardized testing, LT was No. 29. 

Below are some of the proposed curriculum changes for the 2014-15 school year:

Accelerated Physics/AP Physics 1
The College Board, developer and administer of all AP tests, has developed a new series of physics courses based on algebra instead of calculus. The new course, AP Physics 1, is nearly identical to our current Physics Accel class. If we change two units of Physics Accel, students will be qualified to take the test for AP Physics 1. The proposal before the Board is to replace Physics Accel with AP Physics 1. Students not interested in AP Physics 1 would take Physics Prep. Students interested in taking AP Physics C would need to take AP Physics 1 as a prerequisite.

English IV Global Literature Accel/AP Language and Composition
ACT scores of LT students in Accelerated English match the prerequisites for enrollment in AP Language and Composition. AP Language and Composition is most like a first year composition class in college and is a course that is very popular as a senior course throughout the Chicago area. A proposal has been made to replace the English IV Accelerated Global Literature course at LT with English IV AP: The Rhetoric of Literature and Language. This course would give students who took Accelerated level English junior year the opportunity to earn AP credit senior year. For students not interested in the AP option, four different choices will be available at the Preparatory level. 

English IV Preparatory
Currently, three semester-long courses are available to students at the senior Preparatory level. In order to provide more options for students, English IV Prep: World Perspectives in Literature will be expanded from one semester to a full year to include a more diverse selection of books and allow students to apply the skills of reading, writing, researching, listening and speaking throughout a year-long sequence. Additionally, the semester offerings that already include Visual Word and Creation and Reflection will be joined by The Literary Tradition of Comedy.

College Credit
Students who take Keyboarding and/or PC Repair and Maintenance A+ will have the opportunity to earn college credit through the College of DuPage. 

iOS Development
For those interested in computer programming, a proposal has been submitted for iOS Development. This course would teach students how to write programs for the Apple iPod, iPhone and iPad platforms. Students would be able to eventually submit their apps to Apple for review to be included in the iTunes store.

-----

Keep up with local news: Sign up for our free email newsletter, then like us on Facebook to get updates in your news feed.

-----