By Jordan Green
TROY — Troy High School will be making some changes to their curriculum next year. The changes were outlined by Principal Dave Dilbone in his Troy High School’s Plans for Learning presentation at last week’s Troy Board of Education meeting.
Financial literacy as a standalone, half-credit course will now be required of all students for the Class of 2026 and beyond. Financial literacy has always been a requirement for graduation, though it had previously been incorporated into other courses. The new requirement is in response to legislation signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in October 2021. Students will be able to take the course in any of their four years of high school.
Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles will now be offered in place of Applied Computer Science. Advanced Placement classes allow students to take an exam following the completion of the course. If students pass the exam (typically with a score of at least 3 out of 5), they can send the scores to the college they plan on attending to receive credit.
Previously, students who wanted to take Applied Computer Science were locked into two years of prerequisite courses before they could.
“We felt we had created a pathway that was a bit too narrow,” said Dilbone. Now, they only must take Intro to Computer Science to take the AP course, eliminating the programming prerequisite. The programming course is still being offered.
Two changes were made to the English Department. A multi-cultural literature class will be offered. This class focuses on “the different cultures in America and highlights the different authors students’ wouldn’t read in a traditional English class,” said Dilbone. This class is an elective and is optional for students to take.
Additionally, students who fail a portion of a required English course will be able to take an English elective for a half-credit of grade replacement. Before, students were required to make up the credit through an online program. This new plan has the benefit of keeping students in the classroom with an instructor.
Through a partnership with the Upper Valley Career Center (UVCC), Troy High School will be offering two additional S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) courses. For grades 9 and 10, there will be an Automation and Robotics class. “Essentially, what they’ll do is design, build, and program a robot,” said Dilbone, adding that it is a very hands-on course.
For grades 10, 11, and 12, an Engineering Essentials course will be offered. It will give students a basic understanding of what engineers do and how they do it while preparing them for a college engineering program.
These courses are funded by the UVCC and are held at Troy High School.
Also through a UVCC partnership, two of the four classes offered to train students in becoming teachers will now be offered as CCP. CCP, or College Credit Plus, is a way for students to take college classes in high school. In passing these classes, students will receive credit through Edison State Community College.
To encourage student participation, Music Ensembles can now be taken as weighted (or honors) credit. Students who wish to be in the honors program must inform their teacher in the first two weeks of the course. They have a variety of ways to receive honors credit, such as composing music or participating in state-level orchestra or choir.
Students near the top of the class typically have a grade point average of over 4.0. This means that taking a non-weighted course in their last two years of high school lowers their GPA even if they receive an A. Students competing for Valedictorian or applying to competitive college programs typically shy away from elective courses as a result. “We see this most in the music program,” said Dilbone. This program seeks to eliminate the issue and allow students to take a course they enjoy without hurting their college prospects.
Looking to expand on the Ohio Department of Education test pilot program, the school is waiting on approval to offer Data Science in accompaniment to the Modeling and Reasoning course already offered. These courses can be taken as an alternative to Algebra 2 and provide students with a more hands-on and application-based way of learning math.
“This is a lot of work that goes into this. I am really thankful for the team that put tons of time, energy, and effort into this,” said Dilbone. All new courses and changes will come into effect at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
