By THOMAS LUCKIE III

OGDENSBURG -- Proposals of new course offerings for the 2017-18 school year were presented to the Ogdensburg City School District Board of Education for informational purposes at Monday's meeting.

High School Principal Cynthia Tuttle and science teacher Amber Henry outlined a non-traditional Science Olympiad course worth one quarter of a credit during the fall marking period. In order to earn the credit, students will be required to log a total of approximately 28 hours through meetings on select Wednesdays and Saturdays, independent preparation, and participating in at least three events during the Adirondack Regional Science Olympiad at Clarkson University.

"We kind of crafted it as an extracurricular activity, but still for course credit because students and teachers are doing it on their own time," Tuttle said.

When asked by the board about other non-traditional courses, Tuttle pointed out that Marching Band, Yearbook and Jazz-Rock Ensemble are also worth a quarter credit.

Henry and fellow high school science teacher Cristy Smith are the Science Olympiad advisors.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Technology Kevin Kendall provided details on a proposed college algebra course.

Intended for students planning to attend a two-year college, completion of the course would earn students three college credits through Paul Smith's College at a cost of $40 per credit hour.

Prerequisites for enrollment in the proposed course include a passing score on the Algebra Common Core Regents and either Math 10C, Math 9, or Algebra course and a passing score in Geometry, Math 10 or Non-Regents Geometry.

"Over the past few years we've offered college credit for Pre-calculus as well as Calculus and many of the AP courses," Kendall said. "What we did not have was a mathematics course that could serve as a requirement for most of the students when they enter a two-year school."

The proposed course outline includes a review of basic algebra, functions, equations and inequalities, graphing techniques, systems of equations and more.

High school mathematics teacher Kathy Swan is the proposed instructor for the course.

A tentatively proposed Digital Art Elective was placed on hold until 2018-19 due to high student interest in the Ceramics course currently offered.

While no formal action was required, the board collectively expressed casual approval for the newly proposed course offerings.