Summer might mean sipping iced coffee while listening to the hum of bees. Well, in the Eugene 4J district, high schoolers can earn credit for learning barista and beekeeping skills.
This is the third summer Eugene 4J has offered unique, intensive courses. This year, they’ll be primarily in person for the first time. Tia Holliday is a Curriculum Administrator with the district. She told KLCC, “One of our hopes and goals is that these courses don’t look like regular school, that they’re interactive, and kids are out in the community, and just doing things that they normally wouldn’t do during the school year.”
Holliday said teachers proposed classes on things they’re passionate about, and might not otherwise get to teach. Core content courses include Drones and Crime Scene Investigation. Then there are electives like Beekeeping and Karate. Incoming 9th to 12th grades earn high school credit. Most classes take place in July and August, and signups are online now.
Holliday said some students are still behind from two years of remote learning. She said this program is a small piece of the district’s Credit Recovery program.
