Expanding electives at JHS
By John Earp
At the July meeting of the Jal School Board, Principal Dusty Loftis mentioned an expanded range of electives that will be offered to students in the coming year. New electives are: Chess and E-Sports, multiple courses of Shop, with the expansion of Culinary classes now being offered “all day long,” according to Loftis. He said even 8th grade will be able to take Shop this coming year, with students being able to cycle for several weeks in Shop class, then transitioning to Culinary, then to something else. He said, “It kind of gives them a little taste of what they want to do in high school.”
Acceptable use of technology was another very important topic brought up by Mr. Loftis when discussing proposed updates to the High School Handbook. He said, “It goes into more detail on what they are responsible for.” The policy will include an agreement form for the parents to sign. Superintendent Brian Snider mentioned that even with the filters the school have on internet content, students are sometimes “able to look up content they shouldn’t.” Loftis said the district is working to further define and limit access for students. Drug and Alcohol Policy is another aspect that Loftis said was being updated.
