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Schools

High School District Adds Environmental Science Class

San Mateo Union High School District's new curriculum begins next year as an alternative to AP science courses.

The San Mateo Union High School District Board of Trustees has approved adding a new science course to the curriculum next year, intended for upperclassmen as an alternative to Advanced Placement.

Environmental Science is a comprehensive science class available to students who have three years of completed science classes under their belt and have enrolled in upper division math classes. It is a lab class that can be taken by students who would prefer it over the available AP physics, biology or chemistry courses.

Currently there is no alternative fourth year high school science class available to students, so those who would like to take science as a senior are limited to the AP options.

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The Environmental Science class will incorporate lessons from the physical, life and biological sciences.

Sabarijah Hopkins, science teacher at , proposed the course's introduction. It will be introduced at Burlingame but it is expected to spread soon to other campuses, according to Superintendent Scott Laurence.

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Laurence said a similar course was added to Palo Alto's high schools when he was superintendent of the district there, and it quickly became one of the most popular options for students.

The new class will take on topics such as human populations, ecology, biodiversity, geology, food resources, water resouces and many others. Its primary textbook will be "Enviornmental Science: Earth As a Living Planet," by Edward Keller and Daniel Botkin. Students will be expected to purchase the book if they wish to take the course.

Trustees discussed the proposed class during last Thursday's regular district meeting. Trustee Linda Dwyer said she had examined the book and found the course to be "practical and highly entertaining."

Trustee Dave Pine said that since the course was being introduced at Burlingame, and is focused on a comprehensive approach to the sciences, perhaps teachers could utilize the school's solar panels as a teaching tool in the curriculum.

Trustee Peter Hanley questioned why students shouldn't just be encouraged to take an AP class, rather than this upper-division alternative with less chance of providing college credits.

Associate Superintendent Matt Biggar said the class was more practical than the specified advanced placement courses in physics, chemistry or biology. He also said the district should offer more accessible classes to its students than what is currently offered.

The board unanimously passed the proposal to implement the class.

Matt Biggar was the focus of other business during Thursday's board meeting, when it was announced that he would be leaving the district to pursue a doctorate degree in education at Stanford.

Biggar has been with the district for nine years, and has also also served as principal at Burlingame High School. He will leave the district in June.

Fellow Associate Superintendent Kirk Black wished Biggar well, and thanked him for his time and service to the district.

"We're going to miss him," Black said.

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