Struthers, Lowellville school districts plan to share curriculum
By jeanne starmack
It’s a simple concept — neighbors borrow from one another — so why shouldn’t Lowellville schools borrow a chemistry teacher from Struthers?
In turn, it’s perfectly OK for Struthers to borrow a calculus teacher from Lowellville.
Starting this fall, that’s exactly what will happen for students in each district who want to take the dual-credit chemistry and calculus courses. The credits will apply to high school and college.
The courses originate from Youngstown State University, which trains the teachers to teach according to the university’s course guides.
Struthers has offered the chemistry course, mostly for juniors, for a year.
Lowellville has offered the calculus course, mostly for seniors, for two years.
Back in December, schools superintendents Bob Rostan of Struthers and Rocco Nero of Lowellville got to talking.
“I said, you do calculus, we do chemistry; is there any way we can serve each other?” Rostan said.
“It made sense,” Nero added, as the two of them got together Friday to explain the plan. “We’re 3 miles from each other.”
Since that conversation, they said, administrators and guidance counselors have taken over to work out the logistics.
The school districts will provide transportation, with Struthers students who want to take calculus arriving first thing in the morning at Lowellville. Lowellville students who want to take chemistry will arrive at Struthers later in the day.
They estimated that between the two schools, 20 students are interested in calculus and 30 are interested in chemistry. They will know more, they said, after a parents’ meeting Monday.SClB