Who’s excited for the new school year? Many students are eager to begin yet another chapter in their high school career. Whether they may be starting their story or finishing it, students can see a new variety of classes to take this year. Some of these classes include new additions to the history and business departments, and students are more than eager to sign up for them. Teachers, too, are excited about their new course offerings this year.

Mr. Fairbanks is teaching four different classes this school year, two of which are new to his teaching curriculum. These classes include Dual Credit (D.C.) U.S. History, Film, D.C. Government, and Hands on History.

Fairbanks has always been deeply passionate about his work here at Central, and he has always been looking forward to having new material to teach to his students. He stated, “For me, it was mostly because I’ve been doing the same thing for such a long time; I prefer diversity throughout my day.” Fairbanks, a veteran teacher in D.C. U.S. History and Film, hopes that the new classes will diversify his teaching portfolio.

His new D.C. Government class for seniors is an alternative to the generals Government class, taught by Mrs. Prudhomme. Fairbanks stated, “I wanted another engaging class that would earn college credit.” Fairbanks’s other new class, Hands on History, has earned the interest of many students this year. Fairbanks stated, “I’ve actually been surprised at the number of kids that signed up for Hands on History, so I’m really glad that that is the case, and they’ve reacted well.” Mr. Fairbanks has put in a lot of work to prepare his classes for this school year, even though it has been exhausting for him. He stated, “I’m definitely a bit overwhelmed and sleep deprived already, but it’s kind of fun too, because every day there’s something new and a new challenge. So, I got what I asked for.”

While Fairbanks plans to continue on teaching his new classes, he plans on combining his two Hands on History classes to have one big class. He also plans on dividing his Film class into two classes. “We need time to be able to address those ideas and develop them. Right now, it’s tough when you have a huge class and a lot of people to work with.” Overall, Fairbanks is just as excited about teaching his new classes as students are about learning in them.

Someone who is a well-known face here at Central is teaching a new zero period class, Financial Literacy. He is no other than Mr. Trafton, our principal here at Billings Central.

Trafton had only a few weeks before the school year started to produce his plan to teach the new independent study class. Trafton stated, “That class is for juniors and seniors that may not be able to fit a financial literacy credit into their schedule due to their desire for academic rigor or continued pursuit of the arts.” Trafton explained how fitting a newly required business class for students can create a dilemma in the school year when they have to face a difficult choice of dropping a beloved class in their schedule. With the addition of a zero period, many students won’t have to worry about dropping classes important to them, like music or art.

Now, Mr. Trafton has to manage two different worlds: being a principal and a teacher. He loves being able to teach a new class, and he has a different view on teaching from the principal’s perspective. Trafton stated, “It allows me to kind of understand what the teachers are going through on a regular and on a daily basis there.”

One of the struggles that Mr. Trafton faces teaching a zero period is how he has a harder time trying to engage with students, as the class is an independent study. Trafton has luckily come up with different ways to combat these challenges. He stated, “I share articles and podcasts and videos and things that they can always learn from, even outside of high school or college, you know, a traditional learning setting.”

Trafton knows how important business classes are to students because students can achieve valuable knowledge that won’t only be used for college, but for life in general. Mr. Trafton also talks about how the state of Montana as a whole will start requiring a personal finance requirement, not just Central. “You know I think the state of Montana will change as this requirement is so new. The class of 2026 is the first class that has to have this [personal finance requirement] as a graduation requirement,” said Trafton, explaining how the future of personal finance classes will only grow in the state of Montana from now.

From electives to independent studies to new high level classes, Billings Central finds itself once again expanding its course offerings for the new school year. Albeit a challenge for teachers as they prepare to teach new classes, this also presents them with a fun challenge, and provides students a broader range of choices in their academic journey.