Last Minute CHANGE OF SCHEDULE

Next year’s schedule change policy looks different. What’s up with that?

I’ve used the schedule change window for more than half of my semesters at BVN. Whether I used it to adjust the difficulty of my course load or stay in classes with friends, the six-day window for schedule changes was something I really valued.

However, for the 2023-2024 school year, a new system has been implemented for schedule changes. Rather than allowing six days at the beginning of a semester for these types of requests, there will now be three days. Schedule adjustments will only consist of level changes or happen if a student is put into a class not on their original enrollment form.

The new system was intended to allow teachers to hit the ground running in the first week of classes, as well as make sure classes aren’t overfilled. The schedule change window for second semester this year was a test run, and it seemingly worked.

This doesn’t mean that everyone is happy about the new policy. Juniors in particular, who are preparing for their final year of high school, are deeply affected by this new change. Junior Bibi Igbasemokumo had already struggled with enrollment for senior year.

“It’s just not fair. It’s not fair for the students. We’re all teenagers. We’re all indecisive,” Igbasemokumo said. Seniors next year will not have many

By Alegria Aguilera

opportunities to edit their schedule in comparison to seniors before them, especially since switching electives doesn’t count as a level change. That will affect all students, seniors or not. If an elective is too hard or not what was expected, then according to the policy, a student will not be able to change classes unless they meet certain incredibly specific requirements.

“I took Photography II. I really enjoyed Photography I, but darkrooms are really difficult. I just don’t have that drive,” Igbasemokumo said.

“I had a week to try it. It’s really good to have that option [to switch classes] because if you don’t, it’s hurting everyone, even the teachers who’ve now got a bunch of students running around complaining about fun classes.”

So then who’s gaining anything from all of these changes? After all, this is a pretty drastic change to make with no one benefitting. According to the Feb. 3 North notes, restricting the schedule change opportunity this past semester “allowed teachers and students to concentrate on learning on the first school day of the semester on January 4th.”

The first day! Sure, during second semester teachers may jump into the content quickly, but during first semester? Maybe a couple classes have anything productive to do the entire first week.

Are we sitting here with a new policy no one wants? Sure, maybe no one is doing anything about it now, but when people actually want something different than when they filled out their enrollment form – what happens then?

If this rule lasts, younger will have to deal with it for the rest of their high school experience. For freshman Mabel Craig, this could become normalized.

“I don’t think it will affect me much now,”

Craig said. “I don’t know how it will be later, though.”

Maybe we change our schedules too much. I can’t imagine having the job that counselors have. I understand that the amount of moving that happens at the beginning of each semester may be too much. If it’s resulting in classes that are too large, or a loss of valuable learning time, then perhaps something does need to be done.

However, this isn’t it. Students want the opportunity to try new things without having to worry about whether it may not be for them. Even those who aren’t particularly worried about their schedules may want some security that they have the option to do so.

If this new policy sticks around, maybe it does have value. It may just be hard to see until it is in action. Until then, we can only wait and hope for the best.