Palo Alto High School will offer French Civilization and Culture and Biology 1AC for students in the upcoming 2011-2012 school year to synchronize course offerings at both Palo Alto high schools, according to Paly’s Foreign Language Department Instructional Supervisor Kevin Duffy and Science Department Instructional Supervisor Michelle Steingart.
The main reason for the addition of Biology 1AC is to provide students with the same opportunities at both Henry M. Gunn and Palo Alto High Schools, according to Steingart.
The Foreign Language Department is also aiming for similar harmonization with Gunn, according to Duffy.
“The school board asked me if it [French Civilization and Culture] is offered by Gunn, why is it not offered at Paly,” Duffy said. “Shouldn’t students have the same opportunity at Paly?”
In the same way, Gunn has been working to provide courses offered at Paly for their students, according to Steingart.
“We are doing what we can to make sure students have same classes [at both high schools],” Steingart said. “Gunn began offering AP Environmental Science this year, which it did not have before.”
The new classes will provide students with opportunities to study further in the respective subjects.
“This [Biology 1AC] is a class if freshmen are ready for the challenge,” Steingart said. The Paly Course Handbook states that Bio 1AC “varies from Biology 1A in depth and breadth of coverage and the application of mathematics.”
French Civilization and Culture will give students freedom to study what they are passionate about.
“The class gives students the opportunity to explore themes in French and connect to the real world,” Duffy said. “In AP Language they study for the test. They have more liberty [in this class] to study different themes. This class is an advanced French class that studies overarching themes in civilization and culture through literature, mass media, and film.”
The Paly Foreign Language staff is collaborating with Gunn French teacher Anne Jensen to develop the Paly class, according to Duffy. Jensen said she created the French cutlure class after students expressed frustration when the College Board cancelled the AP French Literature course.
“I developed this course in 2009 after the College Board eliminated AP French Literature from their course offerings,” Jensen said. “Many students wanted to continue French after the French AP Language course so I decided to take the best of AP French Literature and put it into a more interdisciplinary course focusing not only on literature, but also on film, music, art and history.”
Paly did not add the class immediately after the elimination of AP French Literature, but contacted Jensen for collaboration after reconsidering the new course.
“I have not collaborated with the Paly French teachers because two years ago when I developed the course the Paly teachers were not interested in offering it at that time,” Jensen said. “They [The Paly teachers] have asked to see my course syllabus and I will be sharing it with them next week.”
While AP French Language is a prerequisite for enrollment in French Culture and Civilization, enrollment for Bio 1AC will be based on teacher recommendations.
“Eighth grade teachers make recommendations for incoming ninth graders for classes according to grades and math lanes,” Steingart said.
Regardless of the biology class freshmen are placed in, freshmen will have the option to take whichever science class they want to in the future if they are ready and motivated, Steingart said.
“Just like all the science classes, there is always the option to switch the next year [to a different lane] no matter which class the student takes,” Steingart said. “Regardless of the class, students qualify for APs and can go into Chem 1A or Chem 1H.”
Editor’s Note: The school board asked foreign language instructor Kevin Duffy why French Civilization and Culture were not offered at Paly, not the College Board. The current version of this article reflects this change.