Region 1 Board of Education members have  approved three new course offerings for the next school year at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

Students will be able to enroll in visual storytelling/the graphic novel, which will be a combined art and English class. The curriculum will have them conceptualize, author, edit and create a narrative using words and drawings to tell a story.

Another new course open to students will be environmental history, which examines the realm of environmental studies from 1492 to the present. Combining social studies with agriculture education, the class will explore the interactions between Americans and their environment in hopes of understanding how the physical world — such as flora, fauna, climate, water and soil — has impacted United States history.

The third new class open to students in September will be an introduction to American politics through the Early College Experience program at UConn. Social studies department Chairman Peter Vermilyea said the course will provide a rigorous learning experience for seniors while at the same time enable them to meet state requirements for a semester-long civics course. Those who successfully complete the course with a minimum grade of C will receive three credits in political science from UConn. Topics will focus on the interaction among the American people, the Constitution and the institutions of American government.