Over the past two weeks, students and teachers have been discussing the course options for the 2011-2012 school year. On Friday, March 11th, students and their parents will begin to sign up for their classes for next year. Course registration will occur through the iParent module for the second year in a row.

Students and their parents will have until March 21st to approve recommendations and add any electives they wish to take. After the override procedures are finished, the Guidance Department and Administrators will begin to create next year’s schedule.

Taking their cue from the construction outside their windows, teachers are planning some major changes for next year’s curriculum. In addition to a new fine arts requirement, the Math, Science, and Social Studies Departments are also changing their curricula.

Math

The Wayland School Committee recently approved swapping the standard order of math classes. Both next year’s freshmen and sophomores will take geometry. Every year after, freshmen will take Geometry, and sophomores will take Algebra 2.

The reason for the switch, according to Math Department Head Barbara Coughlin, is that Algebra 2 is more closely related to Pre-calculus than Geometry. Learning Algebra 2 right before Pre-calculus should, explained Coughlin, lead to less need for review during junior year. According to Coughlin, most neighboring towns teach Geometry first.

Not every math teacher supports the switch. Matt Daniels, who currently teaches Algebra, Geometry, and Statistics, opposes the switch.

“Geometry requires a more developed brain than Algebra 2 and, no offense to freshmen, freshmen aren’t ready for that challenge yet,” he said.

Principal Pat Tutwiler says that the current order of courses is tailored to help students pass MCAS. Geometry topics aren’t tested until the 10th grade MCAS test. However, he supports the switch.

Science

In the science department, the retirement of longtime teacher Emily Norton has triggered changes in science electives. Because Norton is the only qualified Environmental Science teacher at WHS, the course won’t be offered next year unless her replacement is also qualified to teach it.

Department Head Ken Altshuler said that because Environmental Science might not be offered, new electives are being offered for seniors including Meteorology, Astronomy and Aquatic Science.

Still, all three potential new courses, as well as Environmental Science, are in the updated Program of Studies.

“Right now, the catalog has all of that in there,” said Altshuler. “It will be literally up to the students to decide what we end up offering.”

The three main science courses remain the science department’s primary focus.

“We first have to make sure that students who want to take Physics, Chemistry, and Biology can do so,” said Altshuler.

Social Studies

Long-term plans in the social studies department to modify the curriculum have come to fruition this year.

“The primary changes we have envisioned are focused on our European history program, which we have very little of,” explained Department Head Kevin Delaney.

College World Cultures (CWC) will be replaced by 20th Century World Studies. The class will be structured similarly to CWC, but it will deal instead with 20th century issues.

“It’ll get rid of the ancient focus, since that’s what they’re doing in 6th and 7th grades anyway, and just focus the course on the 20th century,” Delaney said. “I think that will be an exciting change.”

The new course will replace College World Cultures beginning with next year’s freshman class.

The social studies department also plans to offer AP European History to seniors. According to Delaney, the course has been in the works for three or four years. Delaney expressed enthusiasm for the course, saying it will not be as specific and content-driven as AP U.S. History.

The Foreign Language and English Departments are not planning any major changes for next year’s curriculum.

Find out more about the new fine arts requirement »