Dance, Arabic and a new AP class: Carmel High unveils new courses for students in 2024-25

Carmel High School students and parents had a wish list: Arabic, dance performance, another math Advanced Placement class, and Spanish for heritage speakers.

Administrators listened to their suggestions. All these courses and many more appear on a slate of more than 25 new courses the school will offer during the 2024-2025 school year.

Every year teachers and department heads meet in a curriculum advisory committee, where they can present new ideas for courses or amend details of a course that might need modification, said Amy Dudley, assistant superintendent of curriculum for Carmel Clay Schools.

“The great thing about having a comprehensive high school is students have the opportunity to really be able to delve into things that are of interest to them,” Dudley said. “They can have the opportunity to find out maybe what they don't want.”

Some new classes arise because of student requests. Others stem from changes in state laws or new Advanced Placement offerings.

Financial literacy expands after new law

In 2023, Indiana’s state legislature changed graduation requirements by establishing that all students must take and pass at least one financial literacy course prior to graduation. This requirement was put into place starting with the Class of 2028.

Carmel High already had a personal finances course, but it was only open to upperclassmen, Dudley said.

“We needed to open that up to ninth and tenth graders as well so that we can make sure all students have the opportunity to take that course,” Dudley said.

Carmel High added other business courses, including Finance & Investment and its capstone in addition to a business administration capstone class. Capstone courses are not required for graduation but allow students to continue honing their skills in a subject.

Arabic joins Carmel High’s growing language list

Over the last few years, students and parents have expressed interest in Arabic as a language course, Dudley said.

That’s now paid off as Arabic joins Carmel’s World Language program, which includes Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin and American Sign Language.

The course is open to grades 9-12.

A course for students whose primary language is not English

Starting next year, students who are heritage speakers of Spanish or Arabic will be able to continue studying those languages.

In the courses, just as students who speak English as their first language study grammar and writing, these students will focus on furthering those skills in their heritage language.

“There's also different levels because in some cases they could be native speakers, they may be able to speak the language, but they may not be able to read and write the language,” Dudley said.

These students will also follow state standards and complete required courses in English. 

Carmel High's course catalog says that the purpose of these courses is "to increase proficiency and bi-literacy" in languages the students may speak at home.

How do Carmel High students enroll in these new selections?

The scheduling process for next year is underway, Dudley said. There's no guarantee that all of these classes will become realities, however.

Students meet with their counselors to determine requirements, learn about different options through Carmel’s program of studies and then they schedule what they have picked plus two alternates. If a course does not have enough students interested in taking it, the class may not be offered, Dudley said.

“Let's say we have one of these courses and we only have five students elect to take the course,” Dudley said. “That may not be enough students to be able to offer a section of that course, so then those students would have to take one of their alternate courses.”

Rachel Fradette is a suburban education reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at rfradette@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Rachel_Fradette.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carmel High School unveils new course options for students in 2024-25