“We were biting off more than we could chew,” said SHS Principal Jake Tyrrell regarding the adjustment to the classes offered for the upcoming school year. As a result of these changes certain classes such as Graphic Design and French one will no longer be available, while Ceramics classes will be reduced from four to one. The decision to remove these classes and shorten others is largely due to a shortage in available staff.
Tyrrell said, “When you think about one language teacher who teaches two languages, and you are trying to get both of those languages to level three, you run out of periods. She can only teach five classes in a day, so one of the classes was going to suffer.”
In addition to a shortage of staff this decision was in part by just how many students were actually interested in taking the particular class. “More students were interested in taking German next year than they were French,” he said. For students who took French I, this year, French II will still be offered for those who wish to continue to pursue the language. Tyrrell addressed the possibility of reintroducing courses like Graphic Design or Film Studies as CTE (Career and Technical Education) options in the future, stating, “I would be happy to reintroduce something like graphic design or film studies as a CTE course when we have the ability to hire more staff.”