LAKEVILLE — New elective courses, libraries outfitted with green screens and expanded STEM programs are just some of the changes that Freetown Lakeville students will see in the coming school year. 

The majority of students will return to school on Wednesday, Sept. 4, with the exception of pre-k and kindergarteners, whose first day of school is Thursday, Sept. 5. 

Libraries across the district will see a major change this year, as these spaces are being transformed into media centers, said Director of Curriculum Teri Fleming. 

The goal is for these media centers to serve as “hubs for curiosity and building around STEM,” while continuing to offer access to literature, reading and writing, said Fleming. They will no longer be “shush zones,” but rather spaces for students to talk and brainstorm. 

Shelving will be removed from libraries to create more open space and each library will be eventually outfitted with a green screen, she said.  

The district is also expanding the scope of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) classes at Freetown Lakeville Middle School so that students are better prepared for high school classes, according to Fleming. 

Fleming is an advocate of the push to improve students’ digital literacy. “I am very excited to support the district and students in their opportunities to get their hands on applied learning and venture into areas that could lead to careers in all types of engineering,” she said.  

The district welcomes 24 new staff members this year, including a new Middle School Principal, Jackie Francisco, who served previously in a principal role at Talbot Innovation school in Fall River. 

The district also welcomes new Director of Student Services Kelly Steele, who has already served as a special administration counselor for Assawompset Elementary and the George R. Austin Intermediate school. 

Another new face among faculty is Apponequet graduate Jenna Kendall, who will head up the school’s music department and teach band classes, said Apponequet Regional High School Principal Kahlan Dessert. 

Hiring Apponequet graduates is not unusual, said Dessert, who got her high school diploma from Apponequet as well. “It’s very common to have people return home,” she noted. 

The High School opens its doors to a second Portuguese teacher and a new history teacher as well, she said. 

Students will also have the opportunity to take new electives on topics such as ceramics, the history of the atomic bomb and digital content trends. 

And they’ll be able to produce CAD, or computer-aided design, drawings in the new engineering lab, where digital media classes and the robotics class and club will meet, said Dessert. 

The district’s science and technology oriented initiatives are “serving the students of today,” she stated, adding that these improvements are responses to “things [students] have asked for and the things they don’t even know to ask for.”