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Every year, the Farmington Area School Board considers and approves additions and revisions to the course offerings at Farmington High School and Farmington Middle School West. This year, the board completed the process earlier than ever, approving a slate of changes and additions at its Dec. 11 meeting, allowing students to sign up before the holiday break and administrators to more accurately budget for next school year.

The process of selecting and approving courses is longer than it may appear. Proposals are submitted by teachers to building principals along with details regarding cost, how the course addresses state standards and federal guidelines, impact on other programs and syllabi. The proposals are reviewed thoroughly by principals, the district curriculum department and the instructional program review committee, which includes teachers and residents, before making their way to the board.

In the end, the course changes and additions that are brought to the school board are designed to address changing state academic standards, as well as the needs of students as they prepare for work and college.

This year, FACS and Tech Ed courses at FMS West and landscape/horticulture classes at FHS are being revised for better alignment with other programs and to more closely reflect current trends and technologies.

New course offerings include French II and German II at FMS West to continue the expansion of the world language curriculum for middle school students. Among the new courses offered at FHS are advanced placement chemistry, economics, and English Language and Composition, giving students 29 opportunities to earn college credit while attending Farmington High School.

The high school will also continue to expand its pre-engineering offerings as a second course in the Project Lead the Way program: Introduction to Engineering Design is added in 2007-08.

To see a full list of course changes and additions, go online to www.farmington.k12.mn.us/learning and look under news/reports.

These new and changed courses, combined with those already available, will give students new opportunities to explore the subjects that interest them, and prepare themselves as they go on to be citizens in our global society.

http://www.farmingtonindependent.com/articles/index.cfm?id=6294&section=news