International Relations among five new courses Holmdel High School principal says classes will be available next fall BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer HOLMDEL — Holmdel High School will have five new courses available in its curriculum starting next fall. Introduction to International Relations, Introduction To Philosophy I, Introduction to Acting, and Advanced Drafting I and II were all commissioned by the Board of Education earlier this month and will be offered starting in September. Principal Art Albrizio explained how proposals for new classes move from their infant stages to becoming a reality. “The program of study at our school gets republished and reread each year, and that’s important because our parents and students read it each year, and we always strive to meet the needs of our students,” Albrizio said. “We want to make sure that we’re offering the correct kinds of classes so that our students can meet their graduation requirements.” Albrizio explained that teachers initiate suggestions as to what courses might be a good fit for the curriculum. From here, teachers submit an outline as to what will be taught in the proposed course(s). “We bounce the ideas around for a little while in meetings and we try to determine what will work,” Albrizio said. “Upon submitting the proposal it really is a quick turnaround, no more than 60 days.” Albrizio said that sometimes a stumbling block can come up if a person needs certification for a certain class that they want to teach or if additional equipment is needed. “Something like a television production class may not be able to pass right away because cameras, lights and things of that nature may be needed, and those things cost money,” Albrizio said. With the five new classes that will be offered next fall, the trend of new classes being implemented can continue. “No school district wants to be stagnant, and so it’s vital that we continue to try and improve the choices that our students have,” Albrizio said. “It keeps things interesting.” Albrizio did note that both at Holmdel and Red Bank Regional High School, where he also once served as the principal, four or five new classes each year were the norm. “I think it’s constructive to have that many classes added in,” Albrizio said. “Students have new choices each school year and they get to see what they’re interested in, especially at the elective level.” One such example are the new drafting classes that are being offered. “A class like Advanced Drafting was born out of taking Introduction to Graphic Arts, which is an elective. They wanted to go deeper with what they had already learned, and so learning to draft was the next step. It just makes good sense to give our students options to further their academic development.”