A Board of Education committee has given its approval to launch a Middle Eastern studies course at the two high schools this fall.
The board's Instructional Committee unanimously approved the course Tuesday night. If it is approved at the school board's March 19 meeting, it will be offered at Lyman Hall and Sheehan high schools this fall, Martin Taylor, the district's assistant superintendent for instruction, said Wednesday.
Taylor said the course will examine the geography of the region as well as the history, politics and cultures. "We think it will tie in well to some other courses we offer," Taylor said.
The course will replace a comparative cultures course that includes a segment on the Middle East, Taylor told the board on Tuesday.
"We're getting a lot of feedback from colleges that our course should go deeper (in terms of subject matter), not wider," he said.
The comparative cultures course did not deal with the Middle East in depth and had seen low student enrollments, Taylor said.
The idea to add a Mideast studies course was suggested by the district's social studies management team, a group of 25 to 30 teachers, Taylor said. The idea was then recommended by the social studies department heads at the high schools to the district's curriculum council, made up of all the school principals in the district and led by Taylor.
Board member Michael Votto said he expects the new course to be a popular one, given increased interest in the region after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The idea of introducing courses on Mideast cultures and Arabic languages is gaining momentum in Connecticut, though it is not yet widespread, said Nick Caruso, senior staff associate for field services for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
"Anecdotally, we've heard some districts talking about this, but nobody has really gotten this far with it yet," said Caruso. "But there's been a real emphasis in the last year or two on global studies, so I think you'll see more of it in the future."
Choate Rosemary Hall reintroduced Arabic into its language curriculum at the start of this school year after 30 years.
Hamza Collins, the civil rights director with the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the school board's action is encouraging.
"It's a great thing," Collins said. "Our group is trying to reach out to boards of education so that members of our organizations can talk with classes in schools about Islam."