The new minimum graduation requirements officially begin
with the freshman class of 2008 (graduating class of 2012).
A change in the arts and humanity graduation requirement
enables students to specialize in one or more art forms at
the high school level. Students will be able to take typical
elective music classes (band, orchestra, choir, etc.) through
four years high school and the credit from one year can be
used to fulfill the graduation requirement.
The
regulation requires that any course that fulfills the
graduation
requirement must be “standards
based.” Kentucky’s
minimum standards are spelled out in the Program of Studies,
so any course that is used to fulfill the arts and humanities
graduation requirement must be aligned to the Program
of Studies accordingly. Music courses must be aligned
to the
music portion of the Program of Studies.
This will require that those typical elective courses
follow an instructional program that includes the instructional
categories of Structures in the arts, Humanity in the
Arts,
Purposes for Creating the Arts, Processes in the Arts
(creating, performing, responding), and Interrelationships
Among the
Arts as outlined in the Program of Studies.
KMEA
in partnership with KDE has prepared an example course
alignment document and has posted
the example on
the KMEA web site for use by high schools across the state. (See
link above.)
For further details you may contact—
Phil Shepherd, KDE Arts
Specialist philip.shepherd@education.ky.gov or
Pam Fleitz, COMEK Chair pam.fleitz@jefferson.kyschools.us
_______________________
*This document could also be used
by those schools that are not allowing arts specialization
but would like to embed
the material into their performing arts
classes in order to exempt students from the Arts and Humanities class. |