Students are expected to have some new options in the new year regarding what they can choose to meet their state required three years of science, according to Matt DiDonato, Haddonfield school district Content Area Supervisor for math and science.
At the board of education’s Dec. 12 meeting, DiDonato shared both current practices and new recommendations for next year’s science subjects ahead of high-school course selection in January. The recommendations will take effect next September.
In the current system, students are required to take biology as freshmen and chemistry as sophomores, and in their junior year can choose between a number of electives, as long as they fulfill a third year of science. Among considerations DiDonato raised was the question “Are we providing a balanced science education – that is addressing physical science, life sciences, earth and space sciences and engineering design – at an appropriate depth?”
The question pertains to the state’s standards, where the expectation is that every student will interact with every standard in science.
“This is a problem that we encounter and a problem that every high school in the state is grappling with,” DiDonato noted, “and I don’t think anybody has found a great solution yet. It’s tough, because we have to balance giving our students choices with making sure that we do what’s required.”
Some schools have opted to add an additional freshman course that incorporates other sciences before students take biology and then chemistry. Others require a full year of physics before allowing for student electives.
As a way to balance options, the proposed course sequence would require biology and chemistry, so in the third year, students can meet the three years of science requirements by taking one physics course and one environmental science course. They can be any combination of either full-year or a half-year courses as long as one from each category is taken.
“What we tried to do is to create a course that is high motivation and high interest, for students who might not have taken physics before, but are interested in that,” DiDonato explained.
The proposed physics requirement includes taking the subject as a full-year course, or taking the physics of sports as a semester course. Students can take environmental science for a full year or Engineering for Resilience: Natural Disasters, a semester course. College prep Anatomy and Physiology I and II have been combined into one, full-ear accelerated course.
In other news, the board celebrated passage of a $46.7 million bond referendum that voters approved on Dec. 10. Board president Jaime Grookett acknowledged the benefit of meeting with the community to discuss the issue prior to the vote, such as Klaus’ meeting with high-school students to explain the measure.
“What I’m learning, just from hearing from the kids,” he observed, “is that (the meeting) made them civically aware, to understand that, ‘This is my responsibility to know what’s going on in my community and inform people who are misinformed’ … And it’s so cool to watch how they as young people understand civic engagement is important.”
The full presentation is available to view at the Haddonfield district YouTube page.
