Mars Area School Board approved updates to high school courses Tuesday night following a presentation by principal Lindsay Rosswog.

The updates include additions, modifications and deletions.

Among the new courses Rosswog proposed was a full-year AP calculus class. It would be worth one high school credit and four college credits at state universities.

This course will provide students enrolled in the existing AP calculus 1 class with the next step in curriculum, according to Rosswog.

“The prerequisite there aligns with that,” Rosswog said.

As the new course is college level and AP, it requires special teacher training. Rosswog explained the district would need to pay for that.

This year, the high school has a handful of students who would be eligible for the course.

“There is a chance that we can (add) it to the book this year,” Rosswog said.

The course will be entered into the curriculum cycle moving forward.

Other course additions include an SAT/ACT prep class as a semester elective, a civics and law class as a general elective, a Foundations of Python programming elective and an introduction to programming elective.

Course modifications include providing students with hands-on STEM experiences in a full-year Engineering by Design course.

“This is one that we think that a lot of students who are choosing to go into engineering could benefit from,” Rosswog said.

Christine Valenta, a school board member, said she was glad to see focus in that direction.

“It's a great opportunity for development,” Valenta said.

Course updates also include the deletion of some programming classes.

Rosswog said several of these will be incorporated into the new programming electives. Others will be modified over the next few years.

The high school is also looking to remove a class called “War and Peace” from the curriculum list, Rosswog said.

The course was developed to teach students the importance of duty and honor.

“This is a wonderful course that has served our students,” Rosswog said.

With the realignment of the social studies department, Rosswog said the lessons will be incorporated in other ways.