This school year, when students meet with their guidance counselors to select their courses for next year, if they are not recommended for an accelerated or honors course, they will have to undergo a new process to be able to enroll in their desired class.
In previous years, the course selection process involved students either being recommended for a course or not, and if students were not recommended for classes, they could still register if they submitted an override form. The form required a student and family signature acknowledging that the student was registering over the teacher’s recommendation. It also required a teacher’s signature acknowledging that the student and teacher had a discussion regarding the override. Once the form was submitted, the student was easily able to enroll in the class. Principal Andrew Clayman described the former course selection process as “pure open enrollment,” where teacher recommendations did not hold much weight and could easily be disregarded by students. Principal Clayman explained that the new policy “gives more weight to the teacher recommendation” and “forces a targeted conversation between the student and teacher well before enrollment” regarding the student academic readiness for particular courses.
While the high school has allowed open enrollment for decades, a recent increase in overrides concerned many teachers and the school administration. Principal Clayman explained that there “used to be five kids here, ten kids there,” overriding recommendations, but “last year [the high school] had more than one hundred fifty overrides.” The administration felt this suggested that “students feel a pressure to take courses that they might not be academically prepared for,” and administrators felt that the fluid course selection process was feeding into the “mentality that students have to be the best at everything” and take all of the hardest classes. The administration felt the new policy would “press the brakes a little bit” on the academic pressure faced by many students to take the hardest classes.
In addition, the multitude of students overriding created problems regarding the number of students dropping classes. If a student who was not academically prepared for a course enrolled in a class and ends up dropping the class, it raises other issues on how they would be graded in their new class for the month they missed and how they get caught up on the material they missed. In addition, students dropping classes they weren’t prepared for could create overcrowding in non-honors classes or prevent the school from balancing class size.
In order to create more collaboration between teachers and students and to ensure students are placed into courses based on academic indicators, the new policy shifts enrollment away from rapid overrides and provides a structure for student reflection. When making an initial recommendation, teachers review a student’s performance, such as work ethic and participation, as well as the prerequisites outlined in the Program of Studies. Then, teachers should provide students with an opportunity to share which course they desire to enroll in, whether it is through a Google form or by writing on an index card what course they want to take. If the teacher’s recommendation and the student’s preference do not align, then they should have a brief meeting where the teacher can be transparent and explain the basis for the recommendation.
If the student’s request and teacher’s recommendation still do not align, then the teacher will identify specific actions and criteria the student needs to fulfill during the third quarter to be eligible to enroll in the class. Some criteria could involve getting a certain grade or meeting with the teacher after school. When the third quarter concludes, the teacher will decide the final recommendation.
Students have expressed concern that some teachers are more resistant when it comes to recommending students for accelerated courses. While the school does not have specified objective criteria that teachers can use to distinguish whether a student should be recommended, Principal Clayman explains, “the Program of Studies articulates some guidelines, but teachers have the discretion to make their recommendation according to their expertise.” Regarding student anxiety over rational decisions for recommendation, Clayman advised teachers to make decisions “rooted in evidence” that could be defended in the case of an appeal.
If there is still a discrepancy between the student’s decision and the teacher’s recommendation, an appeal is the final step in the process, the student or their family can appeal to the Principal, who will make the final decision based on the merit of their request and if the student has fulfilled the requirements that the teacher assigned during the third marking period.
