As students returned from winter break, they were eagerly prompted to choose their 2024-2025 school year classes within the first two weeks of the second semester. Students were shocked and stressed as they were tasked with choosing their classes before the usual scheduling time in spring. This also becomes a huge issue for elective teachers who haven’t been able to promote their classes.
Maricela Sanchez, a school counselor, explains that staff was “asked to do registration early this year so we could have accurate numbers of sections for the master schedule.” Usually during the slow return from winter break, school counselors are “doing schedule changes and evaluating senior transcripts, so at this time we are doing classroom presentations to inform students about the new process for them choosing their classes and providing all the materials that they need,” says Sanchez.
Yet students claim to be overwhelmed and blind sighted by the abrupt decision-making for the following school year. Sophomore, Sami McGrane, explains the registration process “has not given me enough time to think about all my choices, I feel like I’m rushing to figure out what is the best fit for me.”
However, some students prefer the early scheduling process rather than making their class decisions in spring. Sophomore, Stella Sickert, claimed, “If anything, I like early scheduling better, because I do not have to worry about it.”
Junior, Sarah Juhasz, explained, “We’re only halfway through the school year, so I don’t know how my current workload will affect me, especially with AP classes.” Although she believes “the counselor presentations were helpful to know what credits I still needed to fulfill for A through G requirements.”
Multiple teachers are struggling with this new development, including Mr. Mitchell, the Photography and Graphic Design teacher. He believes that “it seems pretty rushed. The way we did it last year, we had very few people changing classes at the beginning of the year.” Mitchell brings up an important point regarding the number of schedule change requests that early registration could bring due to many students feeling unprepared. Additionally, he explains that “it leaves a bad taste in my mouth because we barely finished last semester, and now it’s like you have to hurry up and figure out next year.”
The counselors at SVHS have been trying to support students the best they can, and Sanchez offered some advice that they should “not procrastinate.” Additionally, she says to “check in with your counselors during break, lunch, and office hours.” Overall, this new form of registration has caused many students and staff to feel stressed and rushed.
