USD 383 administrators are working to finalize graduation requirements for the Class of 2028 (current eighth graders). Superintendent Eric Reid and Manhattan High Principal Michael Dorst attended a curriculum council meeting on Friday, Jan. 21, at the Kansas Department of Education in Topeka to address questions and concerns regarding the new requirements.

“They gave people an opportunity to ask questions about how we are going to approach the huge additions of financial literacy, speech, a full semester of health, and then the additional science, math, or STEM [subject that spans] an application-level [Career and Technical Education] class,” Principal Michael Dorst said. “I feel that [because of] who we worked with and how we worked with KSDE, I feel pretty comfortable with where we sit on our plan.”

The curricular additions Dorst noted have already received approval from the USD 383 Board of Education. However, they will not become official until the KSDE finalizes the legal language of the requirements. The vote for those proceedings is expected in March.

The new requirements will offer students, especially underclassmen, a myriad of enrichment opportunities.

“What we have heard from kids is that they wanted more opportunities or more selections their freshman year,” Dorst said.

The biggest challenge administrators will face when implementing these requisites will be balancing them with the previous standards (which still apply to all current students grades 9-12). Ensuring a smooth transition will be the primary focus.

Dorst has been communicating with faculty for much of the year, determining how MHS can best integrate the new class options.

“[We are focusing] especially on the departments where it’s going to affect [the most],” Dorst said. “We have had meetings with Mr. [Joe] Schartz and Mr. [Shawn] Bammes about health and P.E., and Mr. [Ben] Jimenez and I have met with Mr. [Brad] Ficke in ELA about speech classes, and Mr. [Chris] Holborn and the CTE department about CTE additional credits… Those are probably the biggest impact areas.”

In addition, counselors are working to inform incoming eighth graders about the changes.

In other news, construction company McCown Gordon has been given clearance to begin construction on the Oak Street parking lot as soon as the weather allows. Construction is expected to continue through February, March and April. The new parking lot will include 98 spots and will be open for student use once completed.

“There will be an additional entrance-exit [traffic] area,” Dorst said. “So we will have to evaluate our maps and then, as the project comes to completion, evaluate how we want that traffic pattern to flow around.”

If construction goes according to schedule, students can expect to start utilizing the parking lot at the end of April at the earliest.