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player ready...Warren Township High School District 121’s students will have the opportunity to take new honors courses, as well as three new classes next year, after the Board of Education approved an updated curriculum for the 2024-2025 school year at a meeting Tuesday.
One of the new courses that the district will offer is Freshman Athletic Conditioning, a physical education class for freshmen who, “want to do more intensive, fitness-based activities,” according to Christopher Geocaris, the district’s assistant superintendent of instructional services.
The district will also offer Spanish Culture and Language III Honors, which is aimed at students who are native Spanish speakers, and students who took Spanish in middle school.
“It’s giving a little bit of depth, and serving our student population a little bit better,” Geocaris said.
The third new class that will be available next school year will be Applied Algebra with Geometry. The class is designed for students who have failed the first semester of Algebra I during their freshman year. While primarily focusing on algebra, the class will also incorporate aspects of geometry, and will count as a geometry credit, so students are able to take Algebra II during their junior year.
“If students are struggling in math, just moving them on doesn’t help them,” Geocaris said. “Retreading an entire year of algebra, if they only failed second semester, doesn’t help them. This is for kids that failed the second semester of Algebra I during their freshman year, because that’s a critical year of math. That’s a group that’s very at-risk.”
Another change that the board approved during the meeting was adding Honors Introduction to Engineering Design as a dual-credit class, which means that students will receive credit for the class from Warren, as well as the College of Lake County. It’s the first dual-credit class that the district has offered in which freshmen can enroll.
The district is also offering new opportunities for students to take part in honors classes. It’s now designating new classes as honors classes in the 2024-2025 school year, when they previously weren’t.
“We have rigorous coursework in areas outside of the core departments and world language,” Geocaris said. “We are recognizing that rigor by extending honors credit to our top band ensembles who perform college-level music, and to Sports Medicine 2. Students in Sports Medicine 2 complete rigorous academic coursework, along with field experience, as part of the curriculum.”