New possible science and math courses announced
By Garrett Mueller, Business Editor

  Each year, the high school adjusts its course offerings in order to have the classes serve a greater spectrum of student interests. Next year, several changes to the math and science courses will be made to accomplish this goal.
  In the science category, Forensics is once again on the course list, and Introduction to Sports Medicine is being offered for the first time. The high school has also announced that AP Chemistry will be offered, potentially being taught by returning teacher, who took the 2018-2019 school year off for maternity leave.
  Traditionally, AP Chemistry and AP Environmental Science have been alternately offered every year. This year, however, there are no AP science courses being offered, as AP Chemistry was taken from the list of offered courses for this year.
  “I was disappointed when they dropped [AP Chemistry] … since our school doesn’t offer that many AP classes, especially not AP science classes, ” senior Anna Riggs said.
  Changes are also occurring in the mathematics department. A newly-developed AP Statistics course will be offered, as well as AP Calculus, which has consistently been offered.
  “The classes we offer are based off a survey to the students of which classes they’d be interested in taking,” math teacher Christine Browning said. “This year is the first time we’ve had enough interest to offer AP Statistics.”
  These changes come after the announcement that Intro to Calculus will not be offered to students next year. Many students, especially in the junior class, have criticized the decision.
  “I wish there was an Intro to Calculus because I think [calculus] looks better on a transcript, and [I] think more people would have preferred an Intro to Calculus rather than [going] straight to AP Calculus,” junior Connor Clarke said.
  Despite the discontinuation of Intro to Calculus, Browning was impressed by the large number of students who took AP Calculus this year, and she expects an approximately equal number of students to enroll for the coming year.
  While classes have been decided, some teaching positions have not been confirmed, namely for Sports Medicine and AP Statistics yet. This is partly due to ongoing discussions concerning teacher pay and class sizes.
  “There is a lot of confusion right now due to bargaining, negotiations, and enrollment,” Browning said.
  Despite this, the school is actively working on teaching arrangements in order to release student schedules in late May or early June. These schedules will also determine how many periods of each class will be offered, based on the number of students that registered for each class. If too few students register, the classes may not be offered. But if the class is offered at all, there’s normally a sufficient registering body.
  Just as students are eager to explore the new class options, teachers are also optimistic about the change, citing them as a beneficial addition to the school environment.
  “I’m really excited about offering our students the opportunity to take a new class like Sports Medicine,” vice principal Alanah Baron said. “I’m also thrilled that we are offering more AP classes next year than we have before. This is a great way for students to challenge themselves and earn college credit in a high school setting.”