Expansion of elective class offerings at East Providence High School continues

EAST PROVIDENCE — Following up on the expanded offerings provided to students last year, East Providence High School principal Shani Wallace presented the school committee at its January 10 meeting with a list of even more electives for pupils to choose from in the upcoming 2017-18 term.

“The teachers have been working on extending the (elective) program of studies even further than they did last year,” Ms. Wallace said. “They were pushed to think outside of the box, make things more personalized, get students more interested in things other than the basics we expect them to learn.”

Ms. Wallace noted she was particularly “excited” about some of the new electives to be offered next fall, among them being Computer Coding, Employment Technology, Mythology, Poetry, Urban Legends and Folklore, Advanced Art, Honors Singing, Color Guard, Sports Analytics, Art In Math, Biotechnology, Psychology II and World Geography. An English class focusing on the very popular “Walking Dead” television and literary series is also included.

The principal specifically called the addition of advanced art a “big one.” She said high school art teachers will work with their middle school counterparts to create an “audition” for students to gain entry into the program. She said the audition process will allow “kids with talent, and we have a ton of them, to basically get past Art I and into more advanced courses.”

Similarly, the Honors Singing offering is another key addition, according to Ms. Wallace. Of the class, she said, “We have a lot of talented kids in East Providence and we cannot deny them from opportunities to keep going.”

As part of the discussion, the committee, Ms. Wallace and superintendent Kathryn Crowley talked about the inclusion of advanced Foreign Languages courses. Currently, only one student is participating in a French V class, but the hope is more will take advantage of opportunities, especially those offered through on-line outlets.

A question arose that if Foreign Languages aren’t offered at the middle school level, how could an EPHS student take such a class. Ms. Wallace and Mrs. Crowley noted eighth graders could take an introductory level course on-line prior to reaching secondary school or once in high school test out of a lower level into a higher one.

In addition, the superintendent said the administration is looking into the possibility of teaming up with nearby districts to potentially provide access to more rigorous disciplines like Advanced Physics, which are difficult to study on-line and require greater interaction with instructors.

Of the new offerings in total, Mrs. Crowley said, “Again we have some very, very creative electives by working with the teachers and the department heads…I want to thank Shani. She has worked really hard the last two years along with the faculty. We’ve really come a long way with these courses.”

Exchanging platitudes, principal Wallace added, “I have to thank Kathy. She’s the one who really pushed this…Without the support of the administration we wouldn’t be here.”

Foreshadowing a planned presentation at a later meeting, while returning to the topic of Foreign Languages, the superintendent said the courses could once again be offered at Riverside and Martin Middle Schools as part of a comprehensive revamp of elective classes at both buildings.

Mrs. Crowley said the administration is currently working with the middle schools principals to formulate a revised list of electives. She added, with emphasis, “We want the electives to be the same at both middle schools.”

The superintendent concluded by saying she expects to present to the committee an updated middle school list of elective courses in March.

One last note on electives, Mrs. Crowley told the committee she tabled a presentation on new advanced courses to be made available at the Career and Tech Center until the body’s February meeting. She said late changes/additions to the potential offerings caused the delay.