District offers new classes for different career interests

Come the 2015–2016 school year, BG students will have the opportunity to take new classes that were developed to focus on specific skills students may be interested in exploring. Students who are looking to take classes more geared toward specific future careers will now have more options.

Entrepreneurship is one of the new classes that has recruited many students for next year. This class will teach students how to run a business, generate money and start a company. Although this class will not provide any college credit, it will provide one year of experience.

“The idea for this class was taken from Barrington High School,” counselor Brian Linhart said. “The students actually created an app that dealt with bus times and what time they arrive. Basically this class is to teach students how to start their own businesses.”

However, this class may not be fit for everyone, according to Linhart, as it is for students with a lot of motivation and who have a passion for a career in business. Entrepreneurship will involve lots of work inside of school, but most of the work will be done outside of class. Business Education teacher Karen Roberts will be teaching the class next year.

“I heard there will be a new classroom which sounded cool, and the fact that you can actually create a business model is awesome,” junior Carter Weiss said. “Taking this class will help me decide if I want to go into business and give me  a hands–on experience in that field of study.”

Another class that will be offered through the Math and CTE departments is Geometry Construction. Students will take what they have learned from geometry and apply it to woodwork and construction in the Woods Lab built specially for this class. This class will provide experience to students interested in woodwork as well as practical applications of math.

The Geometry Construction class could also be taken as an alternative to a regular geometry class for any sophomores that are looking for a not–so–typical math class. The class will have two separate sections, one for learning all the math skills and the other for applying them to woodwork.

“We always get kids who ask the question ‘when am I going to use this?’” Division Head of the CTE department Jeff Bott said. “This class gives them the direct reason for how some of the schoolwork can be applied to projects.”

The district is also bringing a college level physical science class. In order to take it, it is mandatory for a student to have an ACT composite score of at least 23. Students will get college credit if they receive a passing grade, and will not have to pass an AP test in the spring.

“Classes like these give students a chance to get college credit if an AP or honors course may be too much to handle,” Linhart said. “They also create a wider variety of classes, which is beneficial for students.”

The additional classes are  meant to encourage students to become more involved in their education. If a student would like to take one of these classes, there is still a chance for students to change their schedules to align with specific interests.

“Make sure to talk to your counselor to get more information on these classes,” Linhart said. “This is the time to start exploring different courses based on your career path.”