Electives, including an introduction to artificial intelligence and refereeing, have been added to Chardon High School’s future course offerings, Principal Adam Tomco said during a presentation to the Chardon Schools Board of Education Feb. 18.
Electives, including an introduction to artificial intelligence and refereeing, have been added to Chardon High School’s future course offerings, Principal Adam Tomco said during a presentation to the Chardon Schools Board of Education Feb. 18.
“We went crazy with it,” Tomco said. “A big focus this year was expanding our elective offerings.”
Chardon has an eight-period day, but many students take only six courses, he explained. Rather than sitting in study halls, students may choose to fill their time learning new subjects.
The new classes have focused especially on the idea of employment and advancing technology, such as the AI course, he said.
The English language arts department is exploring electives like student pop culture interests to foster engagement and literacy skills, Tomco said, adding classes in refereeing and the fundamentals of what it takes to be a personal trainer will also be offered.
The school is also on track to reimplement family and consumer science, a modern version of home economics, he said.
“We have that posted. We have several applicants. We are circling back to second-round interviews,” he said.
The school will be dropping from an eight-period day to a seven-period day, increasing instructional time to 50-minute periods, with block scheduling exchanged for a traditional schedule, Tomco said.
Changes will also be made to ease eighth-graders’ transition into high school. Those students will have their own lunch and their own wing of the building, Tomco explained.
Student groups will remain with their own team of teachers, similar to what is already done at the middle school, he said.
Currently, the high school has 249 students enrolled in 449 advanced placement courses, with 56.1% of that group taking at least one AP exam, Tomco said.
The school’s College Credit Plus program has also seen success, with 62 students earning at least 12 college credits, he said.
More than 70% of the 2023 graduating class enrolled in two-year or four-year secondary education programs, Tomco added.
The school recently hosted its first Armed Forces and First Responders Day, where students learned about career paths in the military and emergency services.
A student will be shadowing at the local corrections office because of that event, Tomco noted.
Career-based intervention — a program starting in eighth, ninth and tenth grades to teach job skills and tour students through local workplaces — will return after taking a year off, he said.
Tomco said new employment opportunities may be created, with students serving during the school day as recess assistants, school baristas and chromebook repair technicians.
The recess assistant position has been difficult for Chardon to fill, he said, adding a trained junior or senior participant would help keep the younger students engaged.
Tomco said he is talking to the food service department about creating a coffee shop in the cafeteria line, run by students in collaboration with the department.
Student chromebook repair positions, still in the works, would have students making basic repairs to the devices, he said.
