VANGUARD A
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VOLUME 105
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ISSUE ONE
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F O R U M
F O R
S T U D E N T
E X P R E S S I O N
V I K I N G
SEP T. 30, 2016
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PUYALLUP HIGH SCHOOL
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Music culture evaluated See page six and seven
105 7 T H ST. S W PU YA L LU P WA SH, 98371
CORE 24 CHALLENGES SOPHOMORES
The class of 2019 is the first to meet the new credit requirement implemented by Washington, which leaves little room for error and fewer elective options but more post-high emphasis. So how will it work? Despite the new requirement for fine art, Loring explained that credit urrent sophomores are the first requirements sometimes stand between class to be affected by a new state- students and fine arts. “I have had students who were upset mandated 24-credit requirement system. The so-called “Core 24” took effect that they could not take my class because they had other classes they needed to take, last year. Counselor Michael Sanchez explains other classes within their core curriculum the reasoning behind introducing these such as reading, writing, math, things that are based on analytical thought,” Loring requirements. “What OSPI [the Office of the said. Sanchez agreed, stating that Superintendent of Public Instruction] and the Washington State Government requirements still affect the arts. “The biggest challenge wanted to do was provide will be fitting in that fine a more likely pathway for students to go to college. “I am really excited. I am art and world language They believe that if every glad they have a full credit component that they added,” Sanchez said. student in the state of Sophomore Jaime requirement for visual Washington is able to do Goldberg, one of the this path and fill all these arts.” first students to be little gaps then they are affected by the Core 24 prepared for two-or-fourrequirements, describes JOSEPH LORING year university,” Sanchez TEACHER how the new system said. could affect his electives. The change, the largest “I want to continue [electives] but I in Washington State history, has been in development for an extended period of don’t know if I will be able to. It all depends on how my classes fit in throughout high time. “It has been a long process. I want to say school,” Goldberg said. According to Sanchez, PPRs five or six years,” Sanchez said. (personal pathway requirements) The changes added requirements for a can be instrumental to fitting variety of classes. “We now have an extra science all the requirements in. “PPRs… go with requirement, they separated fitness the career and health [into two categories], they B Y
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eliminated an occupational education credit and added a fine art credit. They also added two credits of world language and reduced electives to just four credits,” Sanchez said. While the new requirements did cut electives, the Core 24 also introduced a whole fine art credit. “I am really excited. I am glad that they have a full credit requirement for visual arts,” drawing and design teacher Joseph Loring said. ”I do not think that it will affect them very much negatively. I know that there are ways that they can take my class.”
pathways that our CTE provides: However, it is not offered at every school accounting, business, graphic design, and if you did not take that then you have photography, health and human services, no buffer,” Sanchez said. Goldberg explained his reaction to the any one of those pathways. If you choose to take classes in these realms then you are new requirements. “At first I was worried that we needed propelling yourself forward for college,” more credits [than the other classes] but Sanchez said. as I learned more about The PPRs allow students it I stopped worrying,” to gain an advantage post“The Digitools course Goldberg said. high school. Loring speaks from “If you decide to take that students take in ninth personal experience Medical Terminology One and Two or Medical grade gives them a little as he points out the disadvantage of the Core Careers Academy, you are bit of a boost.” 24. on pace to go into some “I know that in sort of medical career. If MICHAEL SANCHEZ community college I had you are in that progression COUNSELOR to take geometry three and you can not fit in an times and it took me that extra fine art then the state has said that we can use your personal many times to find a teacher that could pathway to eliminate that one extra credit teach me the subject. It was not until I for fine art and place it in your elective met a teacher that taught in the way that I learned that I received the information, category,” Sanchez said. One of the most major changes of the not because the other teachers were new system is that some students now bad, just because how I learned was not congruent with the way that they taught,” have no leeway to fail a class. “The Digitools course that students Loring said. “To think that the 1,800 kids take in the ninth grade gives them a little that go to school here will not come up bit of a boost. Essentially, if you took against that once in three years with the Digitools your ninth-grade year 36 classes that they take is ridiculous.” If a student does fail a class or lack a you can graduate with 24.5 credits if you passed every credit, there are options to make it up. “You have to do something to recover class. That would give you a .5-credit that credit and there are only a few or semester options that we have currently to recover b u f f e r . credit. One is our credit retrieval option after school. We have a computer program called Odyssey Ware. Another option is an online independent study,” Sanchez said. Sanchez stated that students can also retrieve credit in other ways. “There is a world language test that we started offering in our district recently where if you take this test and pass a certain level you get credit for all the levels before it,” Sanchez said.
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