Project Lead the Way additions, criminal justice, and strength and performance are among some of the new, disparate courses coming to Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools in upcoming school years, based on a recent stamp of approval from Naperville School District 203’s board of education.
In April, the Naperville 203 board and administrators discussed forthcoming high school course changes — first with a preliminary presentation at the beginning of April and final approval at the Monday, April 21 meeting.
What’s being added, and what’s being subtracted
With the board’s approval in place, Naperville 203 administrators are beginning the next steps of making the adjustments to add and remove the courses. The adjustments will occur in the 2026-27 school year.
The additions include:
- Project Lead the Way: Principles of Engineering (1 credit)
- Project Lead the Way: Engineering and Architecture (1 credit)
- Project Lead the Way: Capstone (1 credit)
- Criminal Justice (0.5 credit)
- Modern American History Through Media (0.5 credit)
- Taking Action: Issues and Solutions (0.5 credit)
- Coaching and Officiating (0.5 credit)
- Physical Education 2: Studio Wellness (0.5 credit)
- Physical Education 2: Strength and Performance (0.5 credit)
- Physical Education 2: Competitive Team Sports (0.5 credit)
The removals include:
- Humanities II
- Peace and Conflict
- World Cultures
- Legal Issues in American
- Painting 2
What’s driving the upcoming high school course changes
Naperville 203’s administrators said there were a series of steps that took place over multiple years that led to the recommendations presented this past month. Staff and student feedback was a part of the process, as was dialogue between department chairs and administrators.
“Naperville 203 has a very robust course audit process that it goes through annually to bring forward recommendations to the board of education for new courses, as well as course removals,” Superintendent Dan Bridges said.
Jayne Willard, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said several factors led to the recommendations. Among them: adherence to state standards, industry trends and gauging student interest.
Speaking to the course audit process, Willard said, “An expectation in this process is that courses align to career pathways and post-secondary readiness. In some departments, this required minimal adjustments and in others, significant changes are being recommended.”
Willard added, “This process is done in the best interest of students and is fiscally responsible as we look to offer courses based on student interest, employability and industry trends.”
In speaking to the forthcoming changes, Willard said none of the deleted courses were a reflection of flaws in the curriculum, but rather were an opportunity to best use the district’s resources and recognize forecast changes ahead.
“Our goal in asking department chairs to review course offerings and curriculum was not to fix something that was broken, but to proactively ensure that we are preparing students for their post-secondary goals in the rapidly changing world,” Willard said.
District 203 board gives their support to the changes
When administrators gave their preliminary presentation on the changes ahead, a number of Naperville 203 board members weighed in with words of support.
“I’m very excited about the new PLTW offerings,” board member Joe Kozminski said. “It’s great to see that those have early college credit attached to them.”
Board member Donna Wandke was one of multiple elected officials who acknowledged receipt of positive comments from high school teachers on the overall audit review process.
“This is a lot of change, and it’s a lot of positive change,” Wandke said. “Whenever there is change, there’s a lot of room for concern.”
Board member Kristin Fitzgerald did express disappointment in the loss of one course within the high school curriculum.
“I’m sad to see the peace and conflict course leave,” Fitzgerald said. “That course was extremely impactful for my daughter, and it seems like the content is relevant at this moment.”
Administrators, in response, did indicate many of the concepts within the specific course have been — and will continue to be — a part of other social studies offerings.
Fitzgerald did acknowledge she understood why peace and conflict was being deleted.
“I heard the 50% decline, so you can’t argue with that,” she said. To the administrators, she added, “I am grateful to you that you have been able to really help people feel heard and help people feel like they are working toward positive solutions to cover the material in other ways.”
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
