Exasperated sighs and frustrated groans abound. It is the first day of a new trimester, and both inside and outside the counseling office stands a long line of impatient students. Unsatisfied with their schedules, the students flocked to the counseling office at their first chance, hoping to squeeze in some lastminute changes.
The counselors of Seaholm were no strangers to this sight. The class registration system, it seemed, could do with some changes. As a result, a new method has been proposed for students to register for next year’s classes.Principal Deanna Lancaster is one of several administrators that helped to develop the change.
“It cuts down on schedule changes,” Lancaster said. “It also helps students to make wise decisions, so they don’t pick a class just to pick it.”
The change was the result of an effort by both the counselors and administrators at Seaholm to develop a more efficient, streamlined process that would ensure students get the classes that they want – and need.
Counselor Walter Romano is working alongside his fellow counselors to put forth the changes as seamlessly as possible this year.
“The changes involve more proactivity,” Romano said. “It’s more proactive [for students] to sit down with their counselors and make a schedule.”
The primary changing to the scheduling process is that in addition to completing the online registration process, students must then bring a hard copy of their proposed schedule, with a parent signature, to their counselor for discussion and finalization.
The counselors hope that this will smooth out the kinks in the old registration process, which took place strictly through the online service PowerSchool.
“You used to just go home and do it online,” Romano said. “It wasn’t very effective. The number one reason behind these new changes is that so we can be better guides.”
Like Romano, counselor Brian Flatter feels that the old method had its flaws.
“We don’t want it to just be a drive-by,” Flatter said. “We want a meaningful conversation. It may only be five minutes, but it’s enough to say whether you put enough thought into your selections and whether or not they’re appropriate.”
As a result of the “just get it done” attitude of the old scheduling process, counselors noticed that students were not actually considering the classes and electives they signed up for, instead opting to make last-minute changes to their schedules. Rebecca Rossen is one of the counselors who had this problem.
“The trend here has been that students sign up for just anything,” Rossen said. “They don’t take it seriously. Then, they come to us in the fall because they want to completely change their schedule. This was especially problematic with electives.”
Administrators and counselors alike hope that with the changes in play, students will be making better decisions about which classes to take.
“We want students to be more intentional,” Flatter said. “This is stuff for college. Most students do a good job making good choices, but with electives they are often loose.”
Rossen shares in Flatter’s beliefs that the new system allows for more deliberate course selection.
“We realize that there will always be necessary changes to make,” Rossen said. “But we really want students this year to have a chance to sit down and think about what they want to take, and to be more intentional.”
Although the changes primarily affected the scheduling process itself, students will find one class unavailable for registration due to the changes: academic lab.
With the new changes taking place next year, academic lab will no longer be offered to all students.
“There are two main reasons for [the changes],” Romano said. “First, is that the class exploded into too many kids. The second is that it lost its design. It used to have a curriculum to help students become better learners, but dwindled into nothing but study hall.”
Although academic lab will still be offered at Seaholm, it will be under a new, to-be-determined name, and will be focusing on aiding struggling students to develop essential skills for learning.
“We want to be able to meet the needs of students,” Flatter said. “That time needs to be used for support.”
In order to be placed in an academic lab, a student will need to meet with his or her counselor and discuss the matter. Generally, the class will be reserved for students who need the time to develop critical learning skills.
In addition, administrators and counselors have discussed whether or not to allow Academic Lab to students with heavy workloads in order to alleviate some pressure those students may be feeling.
“We have discussed options,” Rossen said. “After all, there are overworked students at Seaholm. But for now, we don’t know how it looks.”
The changes being made to Academic lab are just a smaller part of the overall changes to the scheduling process as a whole.
The administration and counseling staff both hope that these changes will not only make this year’s registration process go smoother, but that will also ensure that students can get the classes they want and need.
