Steamboat Pilot & Today

With the deadline for changes to next year's curriculum just a couple of months away, school administrators this week discussed proposals to expand or add technology classes.

Superintendent Donna Howell said that in a survey of high school students and parents, respondents showed the most interest in four fields: medical technology, interior creative design, engine mechanics and culinary arts.

A technology curriculum committee will select two of those fields for a proposal of classes to begin next year, Howell said.

"We can't do it all," she said.

"We want to narrow it down and figure out where the greatest interest is."

Part of technology course expansion, Howell said, would ideally include "regionalization," with students traveling to area high schools or to Colorado Mountain College to take classes that may not be offered at the high school where they are enrolled.

"The question is: How can we partner to provide more opportunities in the areas of career and technology education?" Howell said.

Some students at Steamboat Springs High School already take courses at the college, Howell said, but a greater partnership could be developed. Similarly, students who live in Hayden or Oak Creek enroll full time at Steamboat, and Howell said the idea of students from those schools coming to Steamboat for just one or two classes also will likely be looked at.

"Regionalization would be a big advantage for our community," School Board President Tom Miller-Freutel said Tuesday. "That's the way that Steamboat Springs will have to look in the future."

High school students may be able to earn new kinds of specialized diplomas in the future, as well.

At a meeting of the Grad--uation Requirements Committee on Tuesday night, high school Principal Mike Knezevich unveiled proposals for a "diploma with emphasis" in business or technology. High school students already can earn a diploma with emphasis in social studies or fine arts, he said.

That emphasis is noted on a student's diploma and transcript.

The same could be done for business or technology, if students complete a set program of classes in either field. The business emphasis, for example, would be achieved if a student earns a grade of "B" or better in two credits, or two years, of classes such as business law, accounting, e-business or desktop publishing. That student also would have to be a member of Future Business Leaders of America for two years.

Classes for the proposed technology emphasis include video production, theater tech and engineering graphics. The business and technology emphasis require a senior project -- the culmination of the Senior Odyssey program -- related to the field.

Those proposals have not yet gone before the curriculum committee, Knezevich said.

Any curriculum changes that will take effect next year must go before the School Board in January.

-- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203

or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com