Next year, Westlake is set to add five new classes to its course catalog: AP Cybersecurity, AP Business with Personal Finance, statistics OnRamps through UT, English III dual credit through ACC, and a double-blocked real estate class. The school board approved the new courses in December.

AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance

Year after year, the College Board has expanded the scope of its catalog, and this year is no different, as it will add two new curricula to its roster. AP Cybersecurity is focused on threat analysis, and its course skills indicate that students will not actually be programming cybersecurity code, but rather learning about the systems that both attack and protect online information. AP Business with Personal Finance will also debut next year, and it is made up of two primary components: business skills and professional leadership skills. The business skills element includes an entrepreneurship category that requires students to “identify a market opportunity and develop a product idea to address it,” per the College Board website. This method of opportunity identification and product creation is uncannily similar to that of Westlake’s Business Incubator program; however, the College Board makes no mention of showcasing students’ products at a glamorous pitch night, as Business Incubator does.

Statistics Dual Enrollment Through UT (OnRamps)

This year, Westlake students wanting to take statistics had the choice between AP and on-level, but next year a middle path will emerge as Westlake rolls out a dual-enrollment class for the first time. Dual-enrollment statistics will be taught by a Westlake teacher day to day, but exams and other major assignments will be issued by a UT professor and administered by Westlake. The class will consist of two different grades: a Westlake grade that will appear on the student’s high school transcript and a UT grade that students may choose to generate into a college transcript. The difference is that the UT transcript will consist only of grades from the exams provided by the professor, whereas the Westlake grade will factor in both the exams and any other assignments the Westlake teacher institutes. As it stands now, dual-enrollment statistics will be weighted as an on-level class. The Westlake teacher who will teach the class next year will be required to complete short training this summer to be eligible to teach the class. Almost all American universities accept transfer credit from UT.

English III Dual Credit Through ACC

Similarly to statistics, dual-credit English III will be the via media between AP English Language and on-level English III; however, unlike dual-enrollment statistics, the Westlake teacher will have full jurisdiction to create and administer their own assignments as long as they follow the guidelines of the ACC syllabus. Also unlike dual-enrollment statistics, the Westlake grade and the ACC grade will be the same in all aspects, and the grade must appear on the student’s transcript. Dual-credit English III is slated to be weighted as an on-level class next year. Many Westlake teachers are already ACC adjuncts, so no real training will be necessary. A fair majority of American universities accept transfer credit from ACC, but policy differs from school to school.

Real Estate (Double Blocked)

Lastly, and probably most excitingly, real estate will be a course open to juniors and seniors that prepares students to pass their real estate license test at the end of the course. A real estate license permits the holder to assist in the buying and selling of property, lease property for others, and work for a real estate firm. However, it must be noted that students must be 18 to sit for the real estate exam and thus get their license; juniors are still welcome to take the course, but they must wait until they are 18 to take the exam and become licensed. The class will be double blocked, meaning it will fill two class periods in the student’s schedule. Speaking about the double blocking, Westlake Dean of Academics and Student Achievement Liz Edmonson said that with the instructional hours required to take the exam, double blocking the class is a necessity. The double blocking also potentially allows for off-campus programming, but Edmonson said off-campus activities may not be possible because they could hinder students from reaching the necessary instructional hours.

Administration has internally confirmed the teachers who will teach each of the various classes next year, but that information has not been made public yet. Ms. Edmonson affirmed that the district will not be taking on any new teachers for the courses.