BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Brick and mortar changes aren't the only ones returning students will find at the D. Russel Lee Career and Manchester Technical centers. Academic offerings have been revamped and expanded in the core subject areas and computer science.
The goal: Allow students in vocational programs to stay on-site for classes that will allow them to go on to college and technical school or into the job market.
"We're pretty much like a regular high school with emphasis on career training," said Denise Kalmus, supervisor of program and resource development for the Butler County Joint Vocational School District.
Planning for the changes began last January and has been on the fast track ever since, Superintendent Joseph Lupo said.
"We're offering courses to meet college admissions as well as high school graduation requirements. We're trying to serve students of all abilities. We're going to take the students where they are and accelerate them."
The district spent more than $100,000 on textbooks and classroom materials. Students will be able to choose from seven language arts, 13 math, 11 science, eight social studies and two computer science classes. Courses such as chemistry, trigonometry, global economics, and college prep English are offered; and, next year, calculus. No arts or physical education classes, however, will be available.
Mr. Lupo said teachers are also moving away from instruction that targets a single vocational area in favor of broader lessons that can be applied to several programs. More emphasis is being placed on higher-level thinking skills and problem-solving. "We're going to teach the hard-core competencies with class projects relating back to the student's field," Ms. Kalmus said. But that doesn't mean the JVS is turning away from its focus on career-specific programs. Students will continue to spend 3 1/2 of their eight periods in lab, with four periods open for academic subjects.
About 25 program areas are offered. Career labs are being equipped with state-of-art equipment, including a new communications - broadcast lab at D. Russel Lee.
"We have to continue to meet the current needs of business and industry," Mr. Lupo said. "With manufacturers retooling production lines every three years, we have to have (training equipment) better than business and industry to keep our students on the competitive edge."
Student instructional labs in research, biotech and environmental science are planned.
