Whether it be an interest, hobby, or career path, the Regional offers a plethora of electives for students to express what they enjoy and learn a new skill that they are interested in.
For example, the Art programs at the Regional offer many options for students such as painting, drawing, and even ceramics, creating many opportunities for students to try different things.
“I took Art Foundations and Honors Drawing and Painting as an introduction and later advanced to AP Art and Portfolio,” said Maya Alteri, Class of 2025. “I took these classes as not just a personal interest but as something that will help me in my college career.”
Across all programs, there is a balanced range of electives from CP—the introductory level—through AP—the college level. The variety in expertise allows for students to try new things at their own pace, enabling them to gain experience without excessive pressure.
“I teach Exploring Computer Science, AP Computer Science Principles, and AP Computer Science Java,” said teacher Bill Labaire. “My introduction courses are purposefully casual and easy paced while my AP classes are more accelerated.”
Though computer science may be seen as a more difficult course, those who take it as a CP or CPA class aren’t expected to handle a rigorous course load and are taught at a slower pace helping them to fully understand the class. This foundation will be useful for students who might want to learn more about these skills.
Many students have had an interest in learning a new instrument, at the Regional the elective programs in music make this daunting task easy. Classes such as beginner piano, band, and orchestra help students not only learn how to play their instruments but teach them about the instrument and reading music as well.
“I took Beginning Guitar to satisfy the Fine Arts requirements, but ended up having fun learning how to play an instrument and decided to take another semester of it,” said senior Logan Otero.
A fine arts requirement gives students an opportunity to explore their interests and the wide array of electives helps provide an interest for everyone to explore. Otero for example decided to continue taking guitar classes which has shown a growth of interest.
Another student who took music classes was Ben Dibb, Class of 2025. “Beginning piano and guitar were both enjoyable classes to take as electives, albeit easy. I loved Foods for Healthy Living with Chris Stark, as it taught me real life skills”
Not only do electives provide a chance for students to explore their interests, they give an opportunity to hone skills which could be useful in the future. If a student is not looking for a serious class and just wants to try something new, then they have a field of choices.
“The Regional does a great job encompassing electives and programs. Some are more difficult, some are more informative, and some are more fun. In the end, it all depends on the students and what they choose,” said senior Jade Haynes
Taking elective classes can be much more than a high school credit, it can be a doorway to something more significant like a hobby, a club, or even a career.
“The Regional has a good balance whether a student wants to focus on academic growth or develop new skills like art, music, or even technology,” said counselor Christina Lee. “And that may influence a new hobby or even a major that a student wants to pursue in college.”
Exposing students to learning new skills and exploring career paths is important. Taking elective classes contributes to being a well-rounded student. On a transcript, it shows interest and passion beyond core subjects.
“Students can take Computer Science, whether it is serious or not, and apply what they learn to other careers such as engineering, chemistry, fashion, and Information Technology,” said Labaire.
While taking an elective that may not be directly related to what a student has planned for the future, it leaves them with a skill that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
In the past, the Regional has offered the Partnership Program, a collection of classes in different areas designed to be more hands-on to help students make a plan for after high school. Recently this program has been re-named to Wachusett’s Pathways Programs to better capture its goal. (See “The Rebranding of the Pathways Program” for more details.)
“For college, I plan to go into marketing, I highly recommend applying to it,” said Otero. “The only reason that I was able to take marketing as my elective was because of the program.”
The Pathways Program as well as the varied electives offered at the Regional prepare students for life after high school by engaging them in their education now.
