Connellsville board changes CACTC curriculum
CONNELLSVILLE – The Connellsville Area School Board took action Wednesday to further meet state standards with a change in curriculum for those attending the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC) and restricting school attendees to those in grades 10 through 12.
In a unanimous vote, Directors added English 11 and 12, CP English 11 and 12, Algebra I and II and Geometry for those attending CACTC beginning next fall.
“Our academics will now mirror those offered at the senior high school, enabling students who plan on furthering their education at a four year college to meet those requirements,” said Linda Murphy, CACTC executive director of the course changes.
The school has already incorporated biology, advanced biology and chemistry into the academic curriculum for certain courses.
The board additionally voted to mandate potential CACTC students complete their grade 9 courses before moving to the career center.
For nearly a decade the freshman class has been permitted to enroll in a partial day “exploratory” program that allows access to various programs for the first quarter of the year and then enroll in a program of their choice, if available. The students are required to return to their home schools for academic classes.
“The exploratory program gave the 9th-grade student some exposure, but it was difficult to acquire skills and more difficult to give a fair assessment of basic skills learned through grading because they changed programs three times within the first grading period,” said Murphy. “Sometimes their first (program) choice was not available and students would become frustrated and unmotivated, resulting in their falling behind in the technical programs and sometimes in their academic courses.”
Murphy said administrators believe those students entering CACTC programs in grade 10 are better prepared for the educational challenges.
“Students that complete two to three years at CACTC will meet the required (state) standards; gain skills needed for entry level positions in high skilled, high wage and high priority occupations,” she said, adding that skills certificates and industry certifications will also be available to successful students completing certain programs. “Also, the students will have the necessary academics required for post-secondary education and receive articulated credits in a similar program from colleges and technical schools.”
Murphy said that another goal is to better inform potential CACTC students about the variety of programs offered at the school.
“Students need to first understand their own personal interests and the requirements of occupations so they can make an educated commitment leading to successful careers,” she said. “If the CACTC can provide what they need, then they can get experience for free while still in high school before spending time and money after graduation.”
In a related matter, the board additionally agreed to incorporate the current business and personal law one and two courses as a single business law course; restructured the now business information system course as Microsoft Word for certification and Microsoft Excel for certification and expanded the visual basic course to visual basic one and two.
Directors also took action to eliminate speedwriting for note taking, typing, communication technology, advanced business information systems and business communications from the business education curriculum.
Turning to other business, Linda Shearer, founder and sponsor of the Connellsville Area High School Patriots, said that the organization has been advised that a piece of the World Trade Center steel has been designated to the group and plans are being formulated to pick it up on Feb. 10.
A local trucking firm has offered its services to travel to the JFK International Airport in Manhattan to claim the more than 8,000-pound piece of steel and deliver it to Connellsville. An area busing company will also provide motor coach transportation for Shearer and others to accompany the steel artifact to the high school.
The remnant will be stored until the high school renovation project is complete. The project includes the relocation of the current Veterans Memorial on the high school property.
“It will be an exhausting trip, but we will be bursting with Falcon and American pride,” said Shearer.