WESTFORD — Westford Academy Principal Daniel Twomey on Monday outlined new proposals for Westford Academy graduation requirements, which could increase student choice in scheduling.
He said the rationale for his proposals was based on findings from a volunteer working group consisting of parents, teachers and students that aimed to examine how to best prepare students for life after high school.
“College is definitely a piece of it, but really it’s the skills they need for anything after Westford Academy,” Twomey said. “But really we also talked about ‘how do we figure out more choice for students when selecting course.’ There was a lot of talk about graduation and all the way through the program of studies.”
Suggested changes to P.E. and Health
Several changes were suggested, including altering the Physical Education and Health frameworks to a “wellness type model” and formally reducing the number of credits required for seniors to 30, down from 32.5.
“By doing this [wellness model], it would take those 12.5 credits and make them 10 credits,” he said. “For us to do that, we need to restructure how that program is, which will take some time.”
These changes would free up one half-year slot for students’ schedules and allow for more choice in P.E. and potentially more variety with Health classes. An optional survey provided to students with 446 responses found that 40% of students believe that the P.E. requirement should be decreased.
“The consensus of the working group was either to restructure the Health/P.E. or keep it the same. At the end of the day, the group, we came to an agreement to restructure the Health/P.E. to allow more flexibility in scheduling as a preferred option,” he said.
He noted that the district does not intend to pursue alternatives for P.E., such as an exemption for students in athletics.
“It is not an equitable option, there are students who are not able to do those things to meet those requirements,” he said.
Referencing a presentation by school P.E. and Wellness Curriculum Coordinator Brian Roark, Twomey said “They are two different things. Yes there are some similarities, but they are certainly different things.”
He cited concerns with fees, and roster limitations among other circumstances that could deter students from pursuing athletics.
Other changes
Other changes that could be considered include physical education alternatives, personal finance literacy, computer science or community service requirements, or increasing the visual and performing arts requirement from one to two semesters.
District policy was last changed on Jan. 10, 2022, when committee members at the time unanimously voted to remove the Computer Technology graduation requirement.
After a Nov. 5 vote, voters statewide opted to remove the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System as a graduation requirement, which has been the state’s competency requirement since 2003. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Chew said guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is “forthcoming.”
The School Committee will explore changes in policy at a future meeting and took no action on Dec. 16. Should district policy change, new requirements could go into effect as early as 2026 for the class of 2030.
