Manhattan High School plans to implement the Kansas Department of Education’s updated graduation requirements for the Class of 2028 (current eighth graders) starting next year. This school year, administrators have been working to ensure this process goes as smoothly as possible.

“We have been meeting with our department heads, our people from Teaching and Learning and district offices to make sure that we have the needed classes for the big changes,” Principal Michael Dorst said. 

These “big changes” will span a communications requirement (speech, debate or journalism), a financial literacy course, and a full semester of health. Additionally, they are looking to implement one full year of advanced math, science or CTE classes into the curriculum. The usual 4-credit requirement for ELA will become 3.5, leaving .5 credits for the communications requirement.   

The primary obstacle the high school faces in implementing these programs is finding the staff to teach the classes. 

“We are trying to figure out who can teach [these new classes] because there’s some licensing that is required,” Dorst said. “I do feel like our district and our school is ahead of most districts… we are asking the right questions.”

Administration anticipates that classes like public speaking will be nested within the ELA curriculum, making it easier to offer to all students. The financial literacy course is logistically more difficult, but they are actively working to creatively intertwine that with the current curriculum. Changes to PE (due to the semester-long health) and its required credits will also require evaluation.

Nonetheless, the administration is preparing what they can for the upcoming changes, as KSDE will not be officially approving the new regulations until March of 2024. Until then, the administration will continue to iron out the details regarding these new classes and ensure that the class of 2028 has a clear set of goals moving forward.