The Warren County School District’s closure of two high schools is aimed, in part, at increasing course offerings to students.

Board members got a look at the proposed courses to be offered at Warren Area High School and Eisenhower High School during a Curriculum, Instruction and Technology committee meeting recently. Board members reviewed a detailed breakdown of planned course offerings for the upcoming school year. The data highlighted an increase in the number of unique courses available at each high school compared to the current four high school configurations.

For the 2025-26 school year, based on student requests and staffing considerations, the district plans to offer 101 courses at Eisenhower and 115 courses at Warren Area High School, all meeting the 12-student minimum enrollment.

Eisenhower will offer 80.2% of the courses available in the district’s catalogue while Warren will offer 91.3% of the available courses. During the 2024-25 school year, Eisenhower offered 59.5% of available courses, with 16 of those courses offered with 12 or fewer students. Youngsville offered 71.6% of available courses; Warren offered 75.4% of available courses and Sheffield offered 29.3% of available courses.

“​This is the most positive step towards quality education in the Warren County School District in 25 years,” said board member John Wortman.

He emphasized the increased options available to students and encouraged widespread dissemination of the course offering information.​

The restructuring also aims to provide a more seamless transition between different course levels, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP), college preparatory (CP), and general courses. Gary Weber, district superintendent, said students will have the opportunity to move between course levels more effectively, ensuring they are placed in classes that best meet their academic needs.​

Some advanced courses, such as Psychology II, are not part of the planned offerings for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. Elizabeth Kent, district supervisor of secondary education, said those courses would be introduced in subsequent years as more students complete prerequisite courses like Psychology I.

Community members have raised questions about the course selection process.

Wendy Wilcox of Youngsvile inquired whether all students were required to fill out course request sheets and how the potential departure of some students might affect course availability. Kent said while fluctuations are anticipated, they are not expected to significantly impact course offerings. She also noted that some students initially considering virtual options are now expressing interest in attending in-person classes due to the expanded course selections.​

Board member Stephanie Snell voiced concerns about the availability of advanced courses, questioning whether the new configuration delivers on promises of enhanced educational opportunities. Kent and Wortman pointed to classes such as Geometry Honors, AP U.S. Government and Politics, and AP European History as examples of advanced courses now accessible to all students.​

Weber reiterated that the restructuring aims to provide opportunities for all students, not solely focusing on advanced courses. He emphasized the importance of offering a continuum of courses across all levels–applied, CP, honors, and AP–to meet the diverse needs of the student population.​

Community member Wendy Donahue inquired about asterisks appearing next to certain projected courses in the new transition planning FAQ. Kent said the asterisks indicate courses that, due to low enrollment numbers, might not be assigned a dedicated class period but could be combined with other classes. Another board member added that it’s common practice to merge classes with fewer than 12 students to ensure course availability.​

In other business, the WCSD Robotics Team has qualified for the World Championships for the second consecutive year. Seven students from Warren Area High School will compete in Dallas, Texas, from May 5-9. The board plans to recognize these students at the next meeting to celebrate their achievements.​