Committee reviews Fitch High manufacturing program; robotics course planned pending hire

District staff presented a multi-year history of manufacturing courses at Fitch High School and answered committee questions about funding, curricular approvals and a proposed robotics course.

Anmarie Mancini summarized the program timeline: Intro to Manufacturing and Manufacturing Tech 1 were introduced in 2009; Manufacturing Tech 2 was approved during an internal curriculum council period around 2016; Project Lead The Way was added after Perkins funding; a second instructor was funded in 2019; CAD was added after a DODIA career pathways grant in 2021; and courses paused for one year during the 202324 school year before being reoffered in 2025.

Anmarie said district Perkins funds have been allocated differently over time depending on need: early Perkins dollars supported health sciences, culinary and engineering/PLTW; in some years culinary received a larger share; in 2026 about $30,000 was allocated for manufacturing via a supplemental Perkins grant. "We've tried to distribute funds where the need is," she said.

Committee members asked about a planned half-credit robotics course intended for spring 2027. Staff said student interest was at the survey level (roughly 50to 60 students) and that the district plans to hire a teacher first, then finalize curriculum selection (likely from published, purchased robotics curricula) and scheduling. Mark Master Joseph and other teachers on the call emphasized keeping the robotics course and the extracurricular robotics team as parallel but complementary activities to avoid constraining either program.

Some members raised concerns about outside organizations influencing curriculum. One committee member said she had "real fears about an outside organization getting involved with school decisions and possibly dictating curriculum." Staff responded that curricular decisions would be made by district staff and the superintendent and would not be dictated by club volunteers or outside groups.

Staff committed to follow-up reporting: they will continue to track Perkins allocations, report on hiring progress for the robotics teacher, and provide a beginning-of-year summary of curriculum revisions. No formal motion to adopt new CTE programs was made at this meeting.

Next steps: staff will report hiring updates and, if the robotics teacher is hired, will return to the committee with a proposed timeline and course materials for review.