School board approves curriculum additions at Shelbyville High School

Shelbyville Central Schools continues to adjust its high school curriculum to meet its students’ needs. To do so, teachers’ input is used as a driving force behind new curriculum additions.

On Monday, Shelbyville High School Principal Amy Dawson and Director of Counseling Jolynn Badgero presented the 2026-2027 Course Guide to the SCS board for approval.

New course offerings are:

• Advanced Composition -- an advanced composition course for seniors
• Advance English, Language Arts -- course introduces seniors to opportunities for self-expression in two or more literary genres – fiction, poetry, drama and creative nonfiction
• AP Seminar: English – foundational course for sophomores to engage in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives
• Geometry Honors – new course for freshmen and sophomores
• AP Physics 2 – weighted course for seniors that covers thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics and waves, and modern physics
• AP Human Geography – course introduces freshmen to systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding, use, and alteration of Earth’s surface
• Topics in History – course provides freshmen and sophomores the opportunity to study specific historical eras, events, or concepts with an added emphasis on building the skills and habits essential for success in Advanced Placement courses at Shelbyville High School
• Principles of Interior Design – course introduces students to fundamental design theory and color dynamics as applied to compositional design

 “When I had the junior meetings where I met with each individual junior, this was something we heard as a career option that came up frequently … interior design,” said Dawson. “When we talked about offering courses that could help lead to students’ futures, this was one of those that we did not currently have on the books but I think we needed to look at.”

Board member Dr. James Rees asked if any courses were being removed from the curriculum. Dawson responded that Honors English 10 could fall off the curriculum with AP Seminar: English replacing it.

“What we’ve heard here is a solid attempt to give our high school students as many options as possible,” said SCS Superintendent Dr. Matt Vance. “I am really pleased with the dual credit and AP (advanced placement) classes we have here for our students. Our career programs continue to expand as well. We try to get whatever we can for every student and that’s the key takeaway here. We continue to examine what we have, what we can do better and what else fits the needs of our students.”

The course guide was approved Monday. The 2026-2027 school year begins on Aug. 5, 2026.

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