Published: 9/7/2016 6:36:40 PM
SOUTH DEERFIELD — It’s that time of year again, when leaves begin to change color, pumpkins replace sunflowers and kids pack up their pencils and head back to school.
At Frontier Regional High School, each year’s routine is familiar, but not always the same. This year, students will have a better opportunity for technological immersion.
The doors to the school opened Wednesday for the 2016-2017 school year for the first time.
Last year, the school offered a total of 11 advanced placement courses. According to a news release from Pincipal Darius Modestow, 122 students took final exams for those courses.
“81 percent of our students scored three or higher on the exam,” Modestow said in the statement, “which will qualify them for credit at many colleges in the United States.”
This year, there will be 12 advanced placement courses offered — the school is adding a computer science course.
During those new computer science courses, students will now be able to access the internet anywhere in the school. The release announced that there is now 100-percent Wi-Fi classroom coverage.
In addition to the advanced placement courses, the school will also for the first time offer street law, the history of rock ’n’ roll and world percussion.
Modestow said Frontier Regional is also continuing to “focus on social justice with a continuation of regularly scheduled student forums to discuss current issues including civil discourse and inclusion for all.” The school began the social justice program last year, with a small group of students.
The program has been expanded this year to “include the entire school community.”
As far as professional development, Modestow said faculty will meet for 15 minutes every Friday, in order to focus on meeting the needs of individual students through unique instruction, integrating technology into the classroom and “modifying science courses to meet the new 2016 science standards.”
You can reach Andy Castillo at: acastillo@recorder.com