Palo Alto High School will offer new elective classes next year, after the Palo Alto Board of Education approved the courses at its meeting on Tuesday at the district office.
The Advanced Placement Chinese Language and Culture class, which Paly piloted this school year, was among the classes to receive approval from the school board.
Paly will also offer an astronomy class. Astronomy is currently offered at Gunn, but not at Paly. Next school year, Gunn will be able to offer a Foreign Policy class and an AP Environmental Science class, courses which are already offered at Paly.
Both Paly and Gunn will be able to offer the AP Chinese class next year, depending on enrollment, according to World Languages Instructional Supervisor Kevin Duffy.
Previously, some students have opted to take the class outside of school.
“It’s good to have it [AP Chinese] in school,” Gunn student representative Steve Zhou said, who took AP Chinese independently. “You make the sort of cultural connections that you just don’t get outside of class.”
AP Chinese Language and Culture is expected to be the equivalent of four semesters of college Mandarin. Taking the class would enable students to skip to a third year Chinese course, depending on the college, according to Duffy.
In addition to AP Chinese, Gunn will also offer an Introduction to Engineering Design class next year.
Paly will not teach the engineering course, which requires approximately $30,000 in addition to the use of a computer lab to run the class. Gunn receives Partners in Education funding in order to run the class, according to a presentation given to the school board.
Board member Melissa Baten Caswell voiced her interest in offering an AP French Culture and Civilization class at Paly. The course was approved last year and is currently taught at Gunn. Duffy expressed his hope that depending on student interest, Paly could offer the class for the 2011-2012 school year.
“The real story is that while we’re being presented with new 11-12 courses, it reminds one of the depth of our elective courses,” board member Barb Mitchell said. “It shows that you [the teachers at Gunn and Paly] are keeping your ears open to the interests of the students.”
The next school board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, at the district office.