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Child development courses may make comeback at FHS

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

Child development classes may be returning to Fallbrook High School. Superintendent Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez presented options at the Dec. 13 regular monthly board meeting of the Fallbrook Union High School District.

Career Technical Education classes in child development were eliminated in 2017, as well as classes in home economics and fashion design. However, at the request of Diane Summers, this year’s board president, and supported by other board members, the superintendent gave a report about the interest of students in the program and its feasibility.

Garza-Gonzalez said the child development program would teach skills and knowledge needed to pursue careers in child care and related fields.

She said it would teach students about child growth and development, safety and emergency procedures, nutrition and health practices, positive interaction and guidance techniques, learning theories, and developmentally appropriate practices and curriculum activities.

The program would also allow students to apply this knowledge in a variety of early childhood programs, such as public and private preschools, family day care settings, and recreational facilities. It would also enable a student to apply for a Child Development Assistant Permit from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Garza-Gonzalez said that a survey in October indicated 187 students would be interested in a child development pathway at the school.

The superintendent suggested the district could identify and develop a pathway(s) through instructional council by November 2022 and promote the pathway(s) during registration for 2023-2024. This timing would allow for enrollment projections and clear sequence, she explained.

If adopted, she said the program could begin with a part-time position until it grows.

Waiting for the 2023-2024 school year is important, she said, because plans are for FUHS to transition to a block schedule with a greater need for enrichment courses.

The board also discussed the option of an educational pathway which would prepare students to become teachers, and directed Garza-Gonzalez to pursue both programs, possibly with a single full-time teacher.

Garza-Gonzalez explained that it would focus on designing the programs and then finding a teacher that would fit it, rather than selecting a teacher first who may not be a fit.

 

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