January 15, 2019 at 5:45 PM - Board of Education Curriculum Committee Meeting

Key Points of the Briefing:

1. Bethel High School would like to organize a trip to Costa Rica for those students interested in the study of culture, language, biodiversity, nature, business, and international cuisine.

2. We will use the tour company, EF Tours, which we have worked with in the past and the company has been organizing student tours for years.  

3. The anticipated dates of the 11 day trip would be July 6, 2020 through July 17, 2020.

4. The anticipated cost of the trip for our students would be $2999 (quoted for a minimum of 30 students), which covers roundtrip airfare, hotels, meals, tours and admissions, transportation, service of a full time EF director, and basic insurance).

5. The goal is to have 36 students and 6 chaperones for the trip.

6. As of January 2019, there are no travel alerts or travel warnings to Costa Rica.

Summary of the Briefing:

• The Bethel High School World Language Department is bringing forward a new Arabic course to increase the choices our students have in relation to learning a new language. This aligns with our district’s Strategic Plan (personalized learning offering more choice). Currently we offer French and Spanish and we would also like to include Arabic, given it is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world.

• If approved, this course will be aligned to the Global Studies and Business Pathways and curriculum will be connected to the Global Competencies (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Creativity and Innovation) to ensure our students are College and Career Ready.

• No additional staff members are needed to teach this courses.  

• The proposed textbook for this course is Al-Asas for Teaching Arabic for Non-Native Speakers - Level 1

  • Gives students opportunities to use all four skills of the language (reading, writing, listening, speaking)

  • Uses authentic resources

  • Includes cultural elements

  • Basic vocabulary and grammar

  • Audio CD - for listening activities

  • Depending on enrollment, we are proposing the need for 20 books (unit cost $39.99) for an estimated total of $863.96.

  • There is no digital component to this textbook