The information flow that started when Penta students entered as juniors and continued until
graduation is now being channeled in a new way.At the recent Penta Board of Education meeting, Susan Short,
director of curriculum at the career center, said that the new course configuration mandated by the state
Department of Education has meant some challenges and adjustments to the way students are taught their
trades.In the past, concepts and topics would be introduced early on, and then be developed over the
two-years of trade instruction. What the state now mandates is that career education be compartmentalized
into distinct areas of study, more like college courses, Short said.Short said the idea was to allow a
student more flexibility in what they take. With different courses offered, a student would have the option
of choosing to go into a certain area more intensively.The change has been in the works for while. The
agricultural cluster course were the first to implement the changes."They’ll be rolled out little by
little," she said.That should allow instructors to iron the inevitable bugs, and figure out how to
structure the courses so all the information is included and sequenced correctly. Under the traditional
system, instructors had a fair amount of freedom on how that was done.She said staff is left to figure out
"how do we make that happen within two-year programs?"Change "always creates some
angst," said Jeffrey Kurtz, director of the high school. "It’s something we’ll have to sort
through like so many other initiatives."He said it could all work out for the best."Both systems
expect students to apply knowledge at the next level," Short said. "Students will still have two
years to master the skills."Business and medical clusters will make the change this coming year.