As spring approaches, students are faced with the decision of selecting courses for the next school year. In the 2024-25 academic year, Coppell ISD is introducing new courses and making changes within the registration process.
Coppell High School has established two new English electives for the next year: Literary Genres: Film Studies and Humanities: Literature in Music. According to the course guide, the courses allow students to explore and compare the art of literature within their designated genre.
“As a creative writing student, I like how we get the opportunity for more English electives in the future,” sophomore Hiral Patel said. “It’s nice that we have more choices to cover the English IV requirement than just one.”
After a three year absence, Debate: Oral Interpretation returns to the debate program. Differing from other debate courses, oral interpretation is competitive acting, which can be solo or with a partner. The course explores various types of oral interpretation for students to compete, including humorous interpretation, dramatic interpretation, Duo Interp and book events, such as prose and poetry.
“It explores something different than the debate events,” debate director Dr. Jason Sykes said. “It really forces people to get out of their shell and explore literature in new ways. Right now, especially as folks are reading less, we need to help students develop emotional maturity. This process can help them empathize with other people’s experiences.”
Regarding the course registration process, students can see a difference in the formatting of the guide. Rather than a lengthy PDF, the counselors have worked to compose a more visually appealing and user-friendly digital design. The organized format will make it easier for students to explore a wider range of courses.
“My hope is that this helps kids explore different things because they can see it better versus just picking what their friends tell them to take,” lead counselor Ann Cinelli said.
The dual credit program allows high school students to take courses at Dallas College for both high school and college credit. Dallas College will soon place restrictions on its foreign language classes. It will no longer accept previous foreign classes at CHS as prerequisites.
Students have typically completed Spanish II at CHS and would proceed to take Spanish III at Dallas College. Due to Dallas College adopting a standard college practice, students are now unable to do this.
However, if students have a test score, such as an Advanced Placement (AP) exam or a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) language exam, they are able to utilize credits earned from previously taken foreign language courses.
Eighth graders now have the opportunity to tour the CHS campus. Prior to the 2023-24 academic year, eighth graders would exclusively tour the Coppell High School Ninth Grade Campus.
The eighth graders are receiving guided tours of CHS, led by the Red Jackets, allowing the students to explore the high school environment. The visit allows the middle school students to have a clearer idea of the courses or activities they would like to pursue in the future.
“I believe that all of the upcoming ninth graders will get a good feel of what’s going to happen next,” Coppell Middle School West eighth grader Anjini S. said. “The tour will be very helpful seeing that it’s a big step going from middle school to high school.”
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