The Rocky View School (RVS) Board of Trustees has approved some courses that are outside of the scope of the usual reading, 'riting, and rithmetic that schools are known for.  

These courses involve outside the box thinking and having an artistic flair that would make you a leader in the art world. 

First, RVS Superintendent Greg Luterbach explains just what a Locally Developed / Acquired Course is saying, "They're built to provide opportunities that are unique and don't fit within the overall provincial curriculum or programs of studies.  So school divisions across Alberta have the opportunity to say, 'we'd like to do a course regarding yoga, performing arts or theatre, creative writing and publishing and there aren't provincial curriculum about those.'  So school divisions develop these courses, they go through a rigorous process where they're vetted by Alberta Education to make sure they're just not a repackaging of the existing content of some other course.  Those courses are then shared across the province."

Eight of the courses, RVS is already using.   Those relate to the arts and such things as acting, touring, dance, and creative writing and publishing.  Two of the courses, Luterbach says, are brand new.

"Design Thinking for Innovation was originally built by Calgary Public (School District).  That one really looks at an opportunity for students to do a kind of longer-term project.  They have to engage using design thinking principles to go out and look at something.  The projects are meant to be personally relevant and they want to encourage innovation and invention.  The other new one that's being added is called Leadership In the Arts.  Again it's a cross-disciplinary study that encourages creative, entrepreneurial, innovative thinking and it's certainly around looking at future careers in the arts."

Luterbach explains that just because the courses are offered doesn't mean they'll go at all high schools.  "It just allows a high school to say, 'you know what, we think we've got an interest in our student body to do this,' and then they'll put it on their course selections.  Then the school will see, ' you know what, we only had three kids sign up for that and we're not going to have it,' or they might say, 'great, we have 26 kids who want to take this, let's find a teacher now who can teach it'."

The Locally Developed / Acquired Courses will be offered to start in the fall of 2019 if one more hurdle is cleared.  "We have one last step now that the board has approved it," Luterbach explains.  "It's an Alberta Education step, but given that these courses have already been approved elsewhere, we don't foresee that to be an issue."

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