Ali Schulz
Contributing Writer
This year’s schedule has left parents, teachers and students wondering what the schedule is going to look like for the 2022-23 school year and what courses will be offered.
The 2022-23 schedule “will not look radically different [from this year’s schedule],” principal Dr. Irvin said.
Irvin said this schedule is beneficial to students. When creating the schedule, the administration wants to create a system that is flexible for all people and meets their needs, even though everyone has different needs, and he believes this schedule does that.
The current schedule, which includes two-block days a week where students attend four classes a day, and three normal days with seven classes, was newly put in place for the 2021-22 school year. This schedule has been in the works for about two years and was supposed to be adjusted last year but could not be because of COVID.
The COVID- 19 pandemic has given the administration the opportunity to show that it is responsive as a school about safety. Although there are no major changes to the schedule planned, Irvin can not say how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the schedule. Irvin “does not want to change it every single year because it is too disjointed,” Irvin said.
“[The schedule change process] started with us asking if the current schedule fit its needs,” Irvin said.
The schedule is made by the administration with the help of feedback. It affects many people, so they use input from many people about what the schedule will look like.
Students will learn what their schedule will be at registration in August, although the schedules are already in the process of being made and will be finalized over the summer.
There are a few new classes being added for the 2022-23 school year. A Statistics and Probability Math class and Advanced Baking and Pastry Arts FACS class have been added. There will also be multiple Social Studies classes added. An AP U.S Government and Politics, and an AP Comparative Govt and Politics will now be available.
The incoming freshmen class will no longer be offered U.S. Government and World Geography. Instead, they will take World Civilizations and Global Issues II, a year-long course. This change will not impact the upperclassmen yet.
What teachers will be teaching what classes will depend on how many students sign up for each class. A large number of student sign ups will mean multiple teachers. A small number of student sign ups will mean one teacher, or that the class could possibly be canceled if there are not enough students signed up.
Students can look over and review their course requests on the portal and can go down to their counselors if they have any questions regarding their schedule. If there’s a problem with a student’s schedule, he/she/they will be contacted by their counselor. The counselors are there to provide help to all students.
“We [the counselors] help kids pick classes and meet graduation requirements,” college and career counselor department chair Karen Verstraete said.
“A schedule is a reflection of what’s important,” Irvin said. The schedule shows what the values of a school are. This schedule is meant to provide time for advisory academic intervention, which is what was important to the administration this year. Whatever the administration’s focus is, the administration wants to have something that provides deep class experiences that provide as many learning opportunities as possible.
