A new policy limiting class switches during the first two weeks of school was met with mixed reactions from both students and administrators.
The policy barred students from changing class levels or switching and dropping electives until Tuesday, Sept. 24, according to Dean of Students Anthony Meyer.
In previous years, there was no restriction on class movement, though students still worked with guidance counselors and department heads to determine if a move was viable, Meyer said.
Guidance Coordinator Lenny Libenzon said the decision to limit class switching stemmed from a decrease in the school’s budget, which made determining staffing in the spring a necessity. With fewer and fuller classes, there was less leeway to swap things later on.
Meyer added that the decision was also the result of other factors.
“It’s to have some stability in the schedule,” he said. “Rather than having students moving in and out of classes, we think that choosing a class and staying in it, largely, is a good idea for them for the consistency.”
Many students disagreed with the decision to institute the freeze.
“I don’t think it’s a very good policy, because if you’re someone who switched into a class after two weeks, you’ll have to make up two weeks of work for that class and probably be very confused,” senior Anechka Tunik said. “I think that would greatly impact the first quarter grade in a bad way.”
According to Libenzon, students were given ample time to solidify their schedules with the implementation of the Arena Days – two in the spring and one on Aug. 28. During these days, Libenzon said students could change mistakes or add missing classes.
Senior Calvin Thompson, though, felt the Arena Days were ineffective.
“They basically bounced me around and said, ‘We’ll put you on the waitlist for this, this and this.’ The guidance counselors were like, ‘You can’t change this and that.’ So it was a lot of the next person telling you the same thing as the last person told you–very unhelpful,” he said.
A week and a half into the school year, he was still in a Spanish class he didn’t sign up for despite his repeated attempts to get it changed. Thompson did not think he would be able to switch once the two-week ban was lifted.
“At that point I think the guidance counselor will be like, ‘You’re in the class already. Unless it’s a horrible, horrible fit then we’re not going to change you.’”
Many students said they feel they need the first few days to decide if a class is of the appropriate difficulty, but Libenzon said he doesn’t think that time is necessary.
“If you came to me and you said, ‘It’s hard,’ I would ask you, ‘Well then, why did you sign up for it in May?’” he said.
The pervading student opinion about the policy is not all negative, though. Junior Myra Johnson said she understands the values it is trying to instill, but feels the policy has some shortcomings.
“I think the intentions of it are good, but it’s a little too long. Once you sign up for a class, you should be committing to take it next year, but two weeks is kind of stretching it,” Johnson said. “I think with electives you’ll survive not having a free block for a week or two, but if you want to switch up a level and you’re not allowed to move up, having two weeks that you then have to catch up on is a lot.”
Social studies teacher Michael Normant said that in the first two weeks of previous years students in his AP U.S. History classes would often tell him the class was too difficult and would switch down. This year, he said, no one has done that.
“In some ways I think it is really good because it gives kids a chance to get a feel for a class before deciding whether they want to be there or not,” Normant said. “And also it gives me a chance to get a sense of who the students are that are in the class, to see whether or not it feels to me like they’re in the right place.”
Meyer acknowledged the mixed reaction the policy has received.
“One of the areas we’ve found frustration with is seniors, who have met their elective requirements and are in an elective which they think they’re going to drop and don’t need it to graduate. That’s been a little trickier, so it’s about communicating [with people] and trying to find what the best solution is,” he said.
“As with anything,” Meyer said, “we’re giving it a try, I think for good reason, and we’re going to get some feedback from counselors, department chairs and students to figure out how to shape it over time.”
Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at [email protected].
