With an increasing number of students requesting schedule changes to be with friends, swap teachers, or balance the difficult content of higher-level courses, the school’s counseling department has implemented a more thorough process for students requesting schedule changes.
The new schedule change procedure requires students to fill out a course change form with a parent’s signature, their teacher’s signature, and their assigned assistant principal’s signature. This new process, which is intentionally thought-provoking, has triggered some frustration among students.
“It’s really annoying because [guidance counselors] expect us to change our class before May 1, but we wouldn’t even be enrolled in school,” senior Sarah Welch said. “I don’t know how they expect us to know what the class is like. They would tell us to do our research, but that doesn’t add up to actually being in the class and seeing the best fit for you.”
Despite students’ frustration with the updated policy, counselors encourage students to give their classes a chance before dropping out. Counselors began creating schedules during late January and early February of the previous school year for approximately 1,700 students. This magnitude makes it difficult to accommodate sudden changes after the May 1 deadline-especially when the students’ reasons for such switches vary in severity.
“In the beginning, it can be a little overwhelming,” Director of School Counseling Amrita Sethi said. “It can seem like it’s a lot, but you also have to allow yourself some time to adjust. [Students] haven’t even done the first assessment, or they haven’t even made it through the first week. We know it’s overwhelming; we know it can seem like a lot; but you’re meant to be there. I’m going to encourage you to challenge yourself. I’m going to encourage you to give up more time. See how you feel even in a week or two.”
Some students struggle with certain teaching styles and feel like the procedure prevents them from finding what works best for their learning style. However, the stricter implementation of the schedule change requirements teaches students other beneficial life skills; it encourages them to stick with challenging classes or unfamiliar teachers to help build resilience beyond high school.
“There’s no better time for students to learn how to build those skills and be resilient than now,” Ms. Sethi said. “When you’re in high school, you have so many supports in place, and you have so many resources. When you’re in college, there’s not as many. You can’t just drop a class. When you get a job, you might hate the way your boss operates or manages the team, but you can’t just quit.”
Though this procedure is intended to help students in the long term, it still worries students that are eager to change their schedule due to setbacks that could affect their success rate and grades.
“I think that we need to have schedules that we’re comfortable with to succeed,” senior Katie Helge said. “So, I think that a little bit should be more our option than theirs. I would say [the new policy is] a little bit extreme, but I kind of understand.”
Even with the new stricter procedure and required form, counselors remain available to help students with schedule changes, as long as it is properly documented and justified.
“We’re never going to force a student to be in a situation where they’re completely uncomfortable and failing,” Ms. Sethi said. “Nobody wants that, but we do want to encourage students to give it time. I would love to see that in students that they’re ready to take on a challenge or try to make it better.”
