Whether it’s switching down from honors classes or advancing to an AP course, many students adjust their schedules at the start of each semester. The 2024-25 school year is no exception, but with some classes already at full capacity, the opportunity to change classes may be restricted to special circumstances.
The district website states that course drops cannot be initiated until the end of the fourth week of any given semester. This policy ensures students have enough time to seek help and strive for success in their enrolled courses.
“That’s what we’re trying to help students understand,” social studies teacher Karen Spahr-Thomas said. “When you make a commitment, especially to an AP or honors class, you must understand that the 300-level classes have already been scheduled to the max. If suddenly, in the second or third week, I’m in a groove with my students and then four new students appear, it’s a matter of how they will catch up.”
Joining a class four weeks into the year means students might miss crucial foundational material or, in some cases, entire chapters or units. Oftentimes, a student’s grade is transferred from the previous class, but some courses require students to make up missed work.
“At least some of the work has to be made up. It’s not fair to the other students who have been there for six or eight weeks that you just come in and start over fresh,” math department Chairperson Jon Heldmann said. “In math, because we group everything together, you need to know the material you missed.”
To avoid this issue, there are instances where teachers make students wait to move up until the next semester. This gives students more time to decide if they truly want to make the change while also letting them get more of a fresh start without having to make up missed assignments.
“The only time I’ve ever had someone come into APUSH we told them to wait until next semester. If there are students in US History 300 that don’t feel like they are being challenged we can allow them to come in for second semester in January,” Spahr-Thomas said.
To prevent students from changing their courses more than once for a specific subject, each department has its own procedure. In social studies, parents must sign a form for students enrolling in AP U.S. History (APUSH), acknowledging that the student cannot revert to regular U.S. History after advancing. Meanwhile, the math department manages course changes through a Google Form.
“We have a new system where parents can select any course they want during registration, but they must fill out a Google Form to acknowledge that we won’t make a change unless a special circumstance arises,” Heldmann said. “I try to ensure that teachers and the department are very clear with students during registration. You need to pick the right fit, and there’s a good chance you won’t be able to change.”
