EAST WINDSOR: Students flock to business courses

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   EAST WINDSOR — Students in the regional school district are getting down to business — business courses, that is.
   In a presentation to the school board at its Monday night meeting, Patricia Phillips of the district’s Office of Curriculum and Assessment, told the board, “our business enrollment is way up.”
   She said, “For example, we had 1,259 requests for business courses from students, and we were able to accommodate 918 of those requests, which means that 350 didn’t get those courses.”
   She explained, “There is (a) New Jersey Department of Education mandate that all students must complete a course in business finance before they graduate. Also, business administration is the No. 1 major in colleges so they want to take these courses to prepare themselves for college.”
   Ms. Phillips made a presentation to the board on the high school’s related arts department. The department’s courses include art, television production, family and consumer science, industrial technology, music and business.
   ”We are now using reading and writing in all the courses in the related arts,” Ms. Phillips said. “In other words, we are incorporating the Common Core Standards for language arts in every course and every program in related arts.”
   He added, “We believe that our students work products are important, and they should be evaluated not only for the course content but for also for reading and writing. We believe that aligning our curriculum to the Common Core will prepare our high school students for literacy demands in the post-secondary world where they are required to read multiple, complex and diverse texts.”
   The board unanimously approved the implementing of the Common Core State Standards for the English language arts in visual and performing arts, health and physical education, technology and career education and business following the presentation by Ms. Phillips and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Assessment Michael Dzwonar.
   According to Ms. Phillips, the school submitted its Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education five-year plan to the Department of Education to receive funding.
   ”We had to identify three career pathways for funding, and they were accounting — three-course sequence, business/office automation — three-course sequence and marketing — three-course sequence,” Ms. Phillips said.
   According to Ms. Phillips, the district has received $54,190 in state funding. Last year, the school received $23,123 and this year received $31,067.
   In other news, Dr. Forsthoffer talked about the budget.
   ”We are in the preliminary parts of getting our budget prepared for next year,” Dr. Forsthoffer said. “We’ve met as an administrative team in the central office and started to talk about some of the things that we think we need next year.”
   ”We haven’t had sit-downs yet individually with the principals to see what various needs are at grade levels, even at their specific schools, so we will be doing that certainly before the winter break, “ he said.
   And Dr. Forsthoffer shared with the board and attendees news that relief custodian Joe Kramer at Melvin H. Kreps died unexpectedly Sunday morning,
   ”I certainly have already expressed my thoughts to the family,” he said. “ I did tell them that mine and the board’s thoughts are with them.”