Here is a list that may sound foreign to anyone who remembers a distinct lack of electives in the local high school curriculum from years gone by: music appreciation, the Bible as literature, sports history, crime scene forensics.

Those are just a few of the elective classes being offered at Spring Garden High School this fall thanks to a new block schedule the Cherokee County Board of Education has enacted for the 2010-11 school year.

Called “enrichment” class, the one-hour block falls in the middle of the day, and will hopefully offer what Cherokee County High School Principal Doug Davis called a “stress reliever” for students.

“When we visited classes in Etowah County and Pisgah, we saw students who were involved and participating,” Davis said. “The kids all told us they really looked forward to the class they had chosen.”

“CSI: Spring Garden, that's what we're calling the forensics class,” Principal Mike Welsh told The Post. “We have a science teacher who is going to teach about the techniques forensic specialists use, and maybe have some experts in to talk to the students.”

Superintendent of Schools Brian Johnson said he first became aware of the possibility of converting to a new schedule that would free up time for enrichment classes at a statewide meeting last year.

“We were looking at ways to make school more interesting, especially to motivate at-risk students to stay in school,” Johnson said. “It's for all our students, really. State Superintendent Dr. Joe Morton and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice were thinking outside the box, about ways to make learning fun.”

In Cherokee County, the fun is not limited to Spring Garden.

More than a few kids at Gaylesville will soon be taking their turn with a fly-fishing rod; Cedar Bluff students may watch “Casablanca” and “On the Waterfront” in their classic films class, and young World War II buffs at Sand Rock can supplement their knowledge on that subject after completing more mundane-sounding assignments in English and algebra.

“It's not watering down or taking anything away from our students, as far as their core courses,” Johnson said. “We now have this enrichment period during the day that offers classes the students otherwise couldn't take, and it also offers students who are behind a chance to get caught back up.”

Johnson said there will be plenty of solid opportunities mixed in with the lighter – but possibly more interesting – fare, for students who choose to focus exclusively on learning, including educational-related school “teams” such as math team, scholar's bowl and yearbook staff.

Johnson was clear that the primary goal of enrichment classes is to create a renewed interest in learning for students who haven't found motivation from other sources.

“Once those students get caught up, they can choose a subject they are interested in for the second semester,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, that opportunity will serve as motivation to work harder. Dr. Morton said it worked very well at Pisgah.”

The new block schedule does not hinder students on the Advanced Diploma program, Johnson said. He said kids who might otherwise never be able to take electives because of the extra work required to meet their elevated objectives will find classes that can help them be better prepared for college.

“It gives them a chance to take something they couldn't take if they were on a more strenuous schedule,” Johnson said. “At various schools we will be able to offer creative writing, broadcasting, multi-media production, and photography.”

Electives will vary according to personnel at the school. If there's a teacher at a particular school who can play guitar, for instance, then the school may offer a class in guitar.

“We handed out a survey last year, and it worked out great because in a lot of cases we had a teacher who wanted to teach something and a lot of students who wanted to take that subject,” Johnson said. “Some principals have already indicated to me that both student and teacher morale have improved just because of the opportunity to do something like this.”