The 2025-2026 school year is introducing new career-focused courses for students interested in pursuing a career in education or media and marketing.
Intro to Education and Developmental Lifespan, a class dedicated to giving students experience in the field of teaching, is being offered to 10th grade students who have at least a 19 on the ACT reading section and a 2.5 GPA. The course will qualify for college concurrent credit, meaning students will earn college credit while taking the class.
“Students will get nine hours of college credit which helps a lot,” Coach Leandra Crook, current teacher of child development, said. “In graduate school you have to pay for the hours of college credit and it’s usually around $300 per hour, so having nine hours of credit saves students a big chunk of money. If a student decides not to go to college, they’re still getting credentials so the course will still open up many opportunities for them.”
The course will serve as a prerequisite for future courses that will become available in the second year that the course is offered.
“As a junior they’ll be able to take Education Technology,” Crook said. “I’ll teach them about the different apps and tools out there to make education more engaging and I’m really excited about that because my major is in Instructional Technology.”
The course is not offered at any other school in the district, similar to Digital Sports Media Marketing, a course that was introduced this year and is extending the course by offering Digital Sports Media II.
“I proposed the course and it took a couple of years to get through the district and state, but the beauty of it is that Central is the only school in Arkansas to offer a digital media or sports focused class,” Coach Caleb Surly said.
The course is mostly student-led, allowing students to experiment with their own styles of marketing and media production, and the next level of the class will allow for returning students to obtain leadership roles.
“Everyone has their own creative lens that they see the world through, so they’re able to express that in here,” Surly said. “I want to see them really take initiative of things so I’m less of the executive producer and students are the driving force. I have about 15 really talented kids who are double-blocked and I can trust them to learn the skills while also helping me teach their peers.”
Even if students aren’t interested in sports or media, the class offers lifelong lessons that are transferable to their daily lives.
“You’re going to learn marketing skills because one day you have to market yourself to get a job, so having these photoshop and video-editing skills will apply down the road in their education and careers,” Surly said. “My biggest hope is that the returning Digital Sports Media students will really continue to grow their curiosity because ultimately that’s what’s going to take them places and that goes for any class.”
As students begin choosing their schedules for next year, these new courses allow them to explore future career paths and pursue their own personal interests.
