The District 99 social studies department is exploring the addition of a new elective course as well as allowing sophomores to take electives concurrently with US history. The department discussed their idea for the possible course on Chicago history with the Executive Council March 3, and a final proposal will be due for the Board of Education July 1.
“We are in the early stages of exploring and seeing if this is something that the Board of Education would approve. I think it’s exciting, having another course opportunity, especially to learn about more local history. It’s different from what we normally offer,” social studies department chair Michael Roethler said.
As the District 99 course proposal timeline takes place over more than a calendar year, both the DGN and DGS social studies departments have been in contact with each other about the additions they plan to make. Alongside the potential new course, access to social studies electives being extended to 10th graders is also being considered.
“Sophomores would still have to take US history because that’s a requirement, but, one of the things our survey told us was that some students, especially kids who want to do a work program or TCD or something like that, their schedules get full as a senior,” Roethler said. “They really want to take an elective but just couldn’t fit in their schedule, and would have maybe taken it as a sophomore as well as a US history course.”
Rising sophomores would likely have additional prerequisites for some social studies classes that require skills cultivated in early high school classes. The proposal for this reform and for the new course will seek their implementation for the 2027-2028 school year if it is accepted by the School Board this summer.
“That’s where we’re at with the process right now. We’ve gotten questions, we made a kind of ‘elevator pitch’ to the executive council in March, and they got back to us with some written questions, clarifications about that proposal. We’ve given those back,” Roethler said. Now, we’re waiting to hear back from them about if this is something that an executive council would support, because they wouldn’t take something to the board that they don’t support.”
The history of Chicago was selected as the topic for the potential class, although it is yet to be formally titled. The theme was decided on after the social studies department collected a vote from District 99 students on what they would like to learn in a new elective, and class topics are in the early stages of drafting.
“We’re going to do something on Chicago in imagination versus the reality of Chicago,” social studies teacher Dennis Rogala said. “Is it the ‘Gangster Noir’ city where there was prohibition and violence, or is it like ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,’ and it’s a party with Lollapalooza and Cubs games? And, it’s obviously both.”
DGN and DGS are both still in the process of determining exactly what the course proposal would consist of and who might teach it. Rogala has been one of the many District 99 staff members involved in planning the course.
“I’m not going to do lessons on the White Sox, per se, but I know some people really like the White Sox. So, I’m going to try to build in some projects where, if you want to go learn more about your special interest within Chicago, like you can go do that,” Rogala said. “Some people really like sports, some people really like music, some people really like food, and there needs to be a certain level of space for self-exploration for students.”
The social studies department plans to incorporate a dimension of independent learning into the structure of the course. Giving students this extra degree of freedom is another way that the social studies department is using its new course opportunity to respond to the student sentiment that they have collected this year.
“I would like a higher degree of freedom, because I feel like I barely know any of my classmates and what they are interested in; most of the time I don’t even know their names,” junior Jae Escudero said. “It allows for more of a bond between the class and your personal life.”
The course proposal came after a poll conducted by the social studies department asking what additional areas of study that the student body might take interest in. Whether to contemplate their existing connections with the nearby metropolis or to forge new ones, the students chose the history of Chicago.
“I think I would take the course, because it’s important to know about the history, especially in your own area, if you’re not planning on leaving Chicago completely,” senior Flynn Poplawski said. “There are a lot of things that interest me about the history, and even the history of my family there, that would be interesting to see how it all relates.”
If the District 99 Executive Board and Board of Education move forward with supporting the proposal ideas, next year’s freshmen, sophomores and juniors may be able to choose Chicago history as an elective for the 2027-2028 year.
