Students at Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School will soon be able choose to study investing, mythology or broadcast journalism along with their normal courses.

The school plans to add 36 new classes for the 2021-22 school year. The courses are mostly electives, taken in addition to the core requirements for graduation.

When students choose their schedules for next school year, they will have 30 percent more classes to choose from.

“We tried to get new courses that could encompass all types of students and what they want to do with their career when they leave us,” said Principal Patricia Ebbert.

When Ebbert arrived in June, she quickly realized she wanted to expand the options for students and decrease the number of study halls taken by students.

She also wanted to create opportunities for students to earn college credits while still in high school.

Ebbert called upon teachers to come up with new classes that they would be excited about and passionate to share with students.

“I can’t say enough about my staff and their outside-the-box thinking to best serve the kids of Panther Valley. They’ve been doing an amazing job,” she said.

Each department came up with multiple new courses. All of them will be taught by the current faculty with no need for additional teachers, Ebbert said.

In order to accomplish that, the school will offer fewer sections of some core courses, while still ensuring that every student has an opportunity to schedule them.

Some new classes will be held in the former library, which was underused because there was no librarian. Part of the space will become a broadcast journalism studio and lab for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).

Books from the library will be distributed among teachers to share and use in their classrooms.

There are new courses in the English, science, social studies, math, business and art departments.

Panther Valley students already had the opportunity to take college courses by traveling to LCCC.

However they will now be able to earn college credit from their classrooms at Panther Valley, for just $90 a course.

The initial courses will be in writing and business marketing, however Ebbert said she hopes to offer different courses in the future so students can earn as many credits as possible.

Ebbert said that the new program of studies is a working document.

It’s possible for the 2022-23 school year they could make modifications based on what courses are the most popular.

“We want to make sure we have the selection the students want to get - we can’t always do it but we want to do our best to make sure they get what they want,” Ebbert said.