Katonah-Lewisboro school officials want to introduce a new curriculum at John Jay High School that will put less emphasis on state testing and place more focus on diverse, alternative learning opportunities that will better prepare students for the 21st century.

Administrators at the high school presented their long-range plan for the educational program at the school during Thursday's school board meeting. The report comes on the heels of federal and state initiatives to get schools to produce more college-ready students.

The long-range plan report is the first of three scheduled in the next few months. Another report from the elementary school is scheduled for Nov. 18.

"Why develop a long range plan?," asked Ellen Doherty, the principal of the high school. "Because the world has changed, grown, shifted and settled many times since some of us attended high school. But high schools haven't changed much. The content we teach has evolved but in too many instances, the ways we deliver instruction and assess learning haven't."

One way the high school plans to evolve in the way it delivers instruction and assesses learning is by eliminating all state Regents examinations that aren't required. Instead, instructors will collaborate on ways to design learning assessment in classes that don't require Regents examinations.

Vincent Bell, an assistant principal at the high school said this was important because alternative assessment allow student to demonstrate what they know and what they are capable of doing instead of simply sitting in a classroom and answering questions using  rote learning.

An example Bell used was the school's college preparatory chemistry class.  The class used to be given in preparation for an optional Regents exam, but administrators decided to move away from the Regents exam and focus on curriculum that better prepared students for the type of work they'd experience once they graduated.

The students conduct activities like calculating density of irregular solids, completing metric conversion and using observation to distinguish between heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures. The students also observe a mannequin named "Sad Sally" that is posed around different pieces of laboratory equipment and must point out whatever safety violation the mannequin is committing.

"All of these kinds of work are important for the continuation of their work in chem labs and in terms of their work at the high school—this is the type of work you would see from a bench chemist who works at a pharmaceutical lab," Bell said.

Other pieces of the plan include expanding internship opportunities at the high school, making more college-level courses available and expanding virtual learning opportunities for students.

The plan also calls for more interscholastic intramural and athletic opportunities for students who may not normally be able to compete in varsity athletics.

Health and physical education curricula will also be aligned to give students a better idea of the importance and usefulness of exercising in their lives. One initiative is to create more of a health club atmosphere for gym class.

"We are up and running with things like spin, cardio-kickboxing, pilates, nordic walking and core strengthening which are things that we are all going to be doing in our current P.E. program this year," said Christian McCarthy, the high school's director of health, physical education, athletics and wellness. "It's all to give our kids real-life experiences that they can take with them long after they leave our hallways."

The students will also use heart rate monitors, which the school was able to obtain through a grant, to get real-time data on the impact that exercise has on the body, according McCarthy.

While the work to develop alternative assessments and integrate the school's health and physical education are ongoing, officials hope to begin work on developing additional internships, college-level courses, virtual learning opportunities and intramural activities next school year.

"In some instances, we are already close to putting on the finishing touches while in others, we ask you to join us in the process of imagining the possibilities," Doherty said.

Alice Cronin, the assistant superintendent for instruction, is going to present the district's long range plan at the New York State School Board Association's annual convention and trade show on Oct. 23.

"This is well-attended by other districts across the state and Alice is the only assistant superintendent presenting—it's quite an honor to represent us," Robert Roelle, school superintendent, said at school board earlier this month.