Highlands broadens curriculum to bolster career readiness; decreases graduation credit requirement

Highlands High School seniors will need slightly fewer credits to graduate in coming years.

The school board on Nov. 15 approved a motion to reduce the credit requirements from 24.5 to 24, beginning with the 2022-23 school year.

Highlands already requires more than the state minimum of 21 credits to graduate, so the board is able to adjust the requirement without approval from the Department of Education.

The move was designed to accommodate a program by Superintendent Monique Mawhinney, who is working to design a Career and Workforce Readiness Program for students across all grades.

“We owe it to our students to help them in high school to get the experiences they need to be successful in their next phase,” Mawhinney said. “I’m passionate about this. College isn’t the answer for everything.”

The plan will modify the curriculum to create post-secondary pathways for students and eliminate the requirement of 16 core content credits. Students currently have to complete four credits each in English, math, social studies and science, along with two credits in art, 2½ in health/gym and four electives.

The state requires only four English credits and three in math, social studies and science.

Mawhinney said her plan will enhance career-readiness instruction, exposing even the youngest students to a variety of jobs and potential college alternatives.

Board member Kristie Babinsack is eager to see the proposal developed.

“I think this opens the door for a lot of kids,” Babinsack said. “It gives them options. I’ve seen a lot of kids go off to college and it really wasn’t for them.”

In January, Mawhinney will work with administrators to identify teams at each building to support the initiative.

Experts at the Upper Alle­gheny Community Development Corporation and the Alle­gheny Intermediate Unit will be solicited for ideas.

Curriculum will be overhauled to learn whether courses need to be redesigned, added or dropped. The course catalog will be aligned to meet the new credit requirements, with potential implementation in the 2023-24 school year.

David Rankin, head of the Tarentum-based Upper Allegheny Community Development Corporation, said he anticipates working with the district once plans become more detailed. Rankin’s group might be able to link students with local business owners for on-the-job training, shadowing or internships. A meeting is scheduled for March.

The district’s Career and Workforce Readiness Program will include three paths: college, trade/technical and work. A person seeking to join the military could fall into any one of the three categories, board members said.

The college path will include more rigorous classes that prepare students for post-secondary studies, along with SAT preparation.

The trade/technical path will focus on skill-based classes and STEM curriculum, while the work pathway will focus on soft skills, interview preparation and academic courses.

“This is a means to get to your end goal,” Mawhinney said. “It allows for flexibility in school. If a child has an interest in something, we want them to have the skills to be successful.”