DEMOPOLIS &8212; Before classes begin next school year, students will have a few more courses to choose from, after the school board voted to approved two new classes for Demopolis Middle School and four new classes for Demopolis High School.

At the middle school level, two new courses will be offered to students who have not met proficiency levels for math and reading. Based on test scores, students will be put into small classes to help them work on either their math or reading skills. The courses will be mandatory for some students.

punishment, they will be to help the

students,&8221; said Gina Johnston, secondary curriculum coordinator.

Although these courses will be mandatory, they will fill one of the three elective slots middle students have outside of their four core classes. The key to these classes, Johnston said, is to help students to prepare for more intense testing at the high school level.

According to Clarence Jackson, DMS principal, small group sessions such as this have produced positive results in the past.

Another positive factor, according to Johnston, is these proficiency courses will be during school and will not require time outside of the regular school day to get students back on track.

At the high school level, four new classes will be offered to students including an advanced placement language arts course, a class specifically for using a graphing calculator, a class for math team participants and a science Olympiad class. The latter two classes will be used to give extra time to these academic groups to practice in preparation for competitions.

According to Isaac Espy, students have been interested in both the math team and science Olympiad classes for quite some time. Furthermore, these classes offered as electives will set the school apart from other schools in what they will be able to offer for their students.

The board voted to approve all the new course offerings for both the schools.