Doctor Harrison, the district presenter, explained the district’s approach to middle‑grade electives and pathway alignment during the Sept. 23 board meeting.

“I'm thankful for the opportunity to give you some insight and window into our middle school electives and pathways,” Doctor Harrison said, outlining courses and plans at Torch Middle School, Edgewood Academy and Don Julian Elementary.

Harrison described the district’s model: students at the three sites are “cored” for core instruction (fewer teachers covering multiple subjects) and access electives and PE outside that core. Torch, the single 6–8 middle school, offers single‑subject music and high‑school credit Spanish, standalone esports and engineering electives, and a new elective “wheel” that cycles through art, financial literacy, health and nutrition and computer systems. Edgewood and Don Julian—both TK–8—use wheels that include esports, financial literacy and music; Don Julian recently added a middle‑school music section and the district is exploring a split position funded by Prop 28 that would serve Don Julian and the high school.

Harrison also reported districtwide enrichment and after‑school offerings: esports at all three sites, 3‑D printing and design clubs, and athletics organized with Think Together, including team travel, coaches and uniforms. He described planned pilots and expansions: an AI‑assisted coding program to help students learn to code and build games; more tailored CTE curriculum for wheels; and outreach to Greater Scouts of Los Angeles to create scouting troops at sites.

Board members praised the expansion of music at Don Julian and the focus on aligning middle school electives with high‑school pathways. Several board members said they will follow up on the “wheel” model and the piloting of AI coding and other CTE options.

No formal board action was required; staff said they will return with staffing proposals and any necessary funding requests for positions or pilots.