Column: WHS course offerings support students

WORTHINGTON — Worthington High School continues to work very hard putting together and offering a wide variety of classes that support all levels of learners. Over the years, teachers have continued to explore and expand options offered both in the academic and elective areas. District 518 believes in the importance of providing comprehensive and diverse educational opportunities to its students.

WHS offers an impressive variety in its course offerings and programs, including several Advanced Placement (AP) classes, college prep (“honors”), concurrent enrollment classes and vocational, technological, special education, English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, as well as a large variety of art electives. The high school’s academic areas — the social studies, math, English and science programs — present classes and curriculum that will meet the needs of all levels of learners and push those students that plan on attending either a vocational or four-year post secondary institution.

If WHS does not formally offer a course within the high school facility, counselors will work with students to explore other options to meet their unique needs. These include:

l Minnesota Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO): Eligible juniors and seniors at Worthington High School may enroll at Minnesota post-secondary college on full or part-time basis. Students may take classes for both secondary and post-secondary credit. The purpose of the program is to promote rigorous educational pursuits and to provide a wider variety of options for students.

Interested students should make an appointment with WHS counselors prior to registration to discuss this option. WHS works in partnership with Minnesota West to accommodate the students that qualify and desire participation in PSEO.

l Distance Learning/On Line Learning: Occasionally, a WHS student has a desire to remain at the high school, but to explore an interest that is outside the curriculum base of ISD 518. Worthington High School counselors will assist in locating outside resources that may allow a student to schedule a portion of their day on a web based accredited online learning provider.

Worthington High School presents approximately 130 different class offerings to students, not including special education. There are also numerous clubs and activities available to students.

In the midst of all the excitement and fury of educational offerings and policies passed on by higher powers, our kids are faced with more challenges than ever before. MCA Grad Math, Reading and Writing scores are a hot topic for many schools across the state. Administrators, teachers and community members need to try to find ways to supplement programs that ramp up and engage our students for future success.

Today’s classrooms are technology-smart and are becoming more challenging for students and staff. For the past 10 years, a great debate has swirled around everything that matters in public schools — from what to teach and how to teach it, to how to measure whether students are learning what we and our government officials want them to learn. Have other nations in this technological world ever experienced anything comparable to our struggle over what constitutes a good educational program? Public education has been a lightning rod for those who worry about America’s economic future and will continue to drive school systems in different directions.

The vision of how public education should operate — and what we should expect the students to achieve — is still a work in progress. Here at Worthington High School, we must redefine school days so we have time to plan and collaborate among staff and analyze the data that we have collected on students to make improvements and meet the needs of all learners. Change may come from different pivot points in a high school setting. We at Worthington High School are prepared to meet the coming challenges!

Paul Karelis is Worthington High School’s principal.

Tags: opinion, columns, education, district518