Expanded exploratory offerings will be available to Glen Lake middle school students following action this week by the Board of Education.

The board Monday night approved a proposal made last month by secondary principal Kevin Kelly to add several new exploratory classes to students in grades 7 and 8 this fall.

Currently, middle school students at Glen Lake are offered exploratory courses in 9-week increments. They include drama and guitar, cooperative games and initiatives, art, leadership skills (referred to as the “grounds crew”), and band.

Now, middle school students will also be offered Spanish, health, drafting, recreational reading and writing, and journalism. Each course, with the exception of band and journalism, would be offered in 9-week sessions.

Taylor Ann Vann was recalled by the board on a part-time basis and will continue to teach at the middle school level. The board issued Vann a pink slip earlier this spring — not knowing whether they’d be able retain her given budget constraints.

Also approved for the 2007-08 school year is a culinary design course for high school students. The students would establish a menu and prepare healthy foods to be sold in an after-school cafe to students staying after school for extracurricular and athletic activities.

Two new athletic opportunities will also be available to Glen Lake students this fall. Board members voted to approved the formation of an equestrian team and addition of a girls’ golf team.

Superintendent Joan Groening said the equestrian team would be open to all high school students and coached voluntarily by Paula Peterson of Golden Valley Ranch near Empire. Girls’ golf is being added to the athletic program to align the school with federal Title IX requirements for equity in sports offerings between male and female students. Boys’ golf is moving to the spring; girls’ golf will be offered in the fall, Groening said.

In other business during the monthly meeting, the board:

• Hired Amber Turner as a full-time teacher in the early elementary grades. Turner played a significant role in the development of Glen Lake’s preschool program, which is yielding increased enrollment for the district in the elementary grades.

• Approved the softball team’s annual spring break trip to South Carolina planned for spring 2008.