By Mandy Bourgeois | Published Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Northwest School Board heard about proposed new high school courses for the 2010-2011 school year, as well as proposed course deletions at Monday's meeting.
- Fashion marketing - a half-credit course supporting the sales and marketing pathway. The course plan focuses on an understanding of marketing within the fashion industry, distribution channels, financial planning, marketing information system, product planning and textiles and design.
- Entrepreneurship - half-credit course supporting business management pathway, banking and finance pathway and sales and marketing pathway. The course plan focuses on principles of business and marketing concepts of economics and free enterprise, understanding human resources skills of an effective marketer and relationships between business and marketing.
- Art III: 3-D design - ceramics/sculpture - one-credit course is a continuation of three dimensional work in ceramics, sculpture and mixed media begun in Art II: 3-D - ceramics/sculpture.
- Orchestra I - one-credit course supportive of large group, small group and individual instrumental technique.
- Show choir/vocal ensemble I, II, III and IV - one-credit course supportive of ensemble technique.
- Body works: alternative fitness - half-credit course exposing students to a variety of alternative fitness activities, including cardio kickboxing, Pilates and Zumba, as well as resistance training techniques.
- Strengthen and tone: super sculpt - half-credit course in which students participate in resistance and strength training exercises such as circuit training, sculpting, abdominal/core toning exercise and free-weight strength training.
Academy of Media Arts and Technology
- Graphic design and illustration - one-credit course supporting the digital graphic and animation track within the academy. The course introduces students to graphic design techniques using layout and design concepts appropriate to the advertising field and using graphics hardware and software consistent with industry standards.
- Advanced graphic design and illustration - one-credit course for students on the digital graphics and animation track within the academy. The course plan engages students in advanced graphic design techniques.
Academy of Culinary Arts and Hospitality
- Principles of hospitality and tourism - one-credit course will focus on students' knowledge and skills in the hospitality and tourism industry.
- Hotel management - half-credit course focusing on the knowledge and skills needed to pursue staff and management positions available in the hotel industry.
- Restaurant management - half-credit course emphasizing the principles of planning, organization, staffing, directing and controlling the management of food service operations.
Debate/communication applications was presented as a proposed deletion. The Texas Education Agency is scheduled to approve debate as a course that will meet the communication applications requirement.
TEA is also reviewing pharmacology, which is currently offered at Northwest, as an innovative course.
The board will vote on the course proposals at the Nov. 9 meeting.
In other business, the board was presented interlocal agreements with police entities from the city of Fort Worth, Denton County, the city of Rhome and the town of Trophy Club by Kyle Copp, executive director of human resources.
If the agreements are approved at the Nov. 9 meeting, the district will pay a total of $269,950.70 for school resource officers, with $141,166 going to Fort Worth; $74,215 to Denton County; $33,735 to Rhome; and $20,834.70 to Trophy Club.
The funds will provide:
- one Trophy Club police officer serving as the school resource officer at Lake View and Samuel Beck elementaries, Medlin Middle School and Byron Nelson High School;
- two officers from the city of Fort Worth, as well as 10 additional officers assigned to the school security initiative program;
- one Rhome police officer stationed at Chisholm Trail Middle School and also serving Seven Hills and Prairie View elementaries; and
- one Denton County deputy.
Board trustee Davis Palmer asked Copp what type of activity school resource officers usually responded to at the elementary level. Copp said that officers respond in lock-down situations or if a visitor is flagged by the district's Raptor system.
