SJUSD board to consider adding 3 new high school courses

By Mike Hazlip—
Three newly proposed school courses would give students at San Juan Unified School District more options to explore their interests.

The proposed courses for the 2022-2023 school year are Environmental Science, Mural Design, and College and Career Readiness.

During an April 5 school board meeting, Curriculum and Standards Committee Chair Myel Jenkins told the five-member board that her committee voted unanimously to forward the courses to the board for discussion.

New course proposals are reviewed and approved by the Curriculum Standards Committee before they are presented to the board, according to Nichole Kukral, director professional learning and curriculum innovation.

“Our goals for new courses are always to ensure that we’re providing a rich, robust educational program for our students that tap into their needs and interests and that also provide them A through G credit,” Kukral said.

The environmental science course is aimed at helping students learn environmental science through project-based units. The course will emphasize resource management and critical thinking skills.

If approved, mural design will be part of the district’s visual and performing arts program and emphasize collaboration and leadership skills, according to an agenda packet. Students will have an opportunity to create work for public exhibition and design a mural that will be painted in the school or community.

College and career readiness aims to help students make career goals and decisions after completing high school. The course will focus on digital literacy, critical thinking, and writing skills.

There were no questions from school board members after the presentation. The items will come before the board again during an April 19 meeting for action.