In years past, picking next year’s schedule always took place in February. Students also had the opportunity to visit classes they were interested in taking the following year at this time on signing day.
This year, however, the scheduling process has been shifted back. Along with elective videos, everything will take place in December. This has been the cause of controversy among students and staff.
“We think it will be better; [it will] be better for students to have complete schedules and for counselors to make sure students have complete schedules,” said Mrs. Caverly, the current counselor for the class of 2027.
Caverly said that this change will bring a smoother transition in linking students’ academic courses from year to year. Even though the timeline is moving up by two months, students should still prepare to receive their schedules before the beginning of the school year. In turn, this alteration should ease both students and counselors alike.
Many students experienced schedule issues last year, including getting the wrong classes and requesting a surplus of schedule changes. According to Brighton Area Schools superintendent Dr. Outlaw, this was not due to any counselor error but a rushed schedule. A condensed timeline resulted in many inaccuracies along with confused staff and students. This compelled administrators to move up the scheduling timeline.
Outlaw said, “By starting earlier, this will allow for increased accuracy and efficiency, which will benefit everyone.”
Controversy has shrouded this shift in schedule, and there are arguments on both sides. Whether it is concern over freshmen not yet having completed their first semester or students being checked out because of Christmas break, many have reason for concern.
The biggest concern among students is that they won’t have time to think about what classes they want to take before submitting them. This was pointed out by sophomore Emily Houhanisin, who is worried about this alteration.
Houhanisin said, “It gave me more time to think about what I want to do next year, especially in reference to what I’m doing this year.”
She also mentioned concerns over freshmen picking their schedules. Freshmen haven’t yet experienced one semester of high school, so it might be soon for them to pick out classes for the following year. However, counselors will be checking in with the freshmen—and other grades, for that matter—during one-on-one conferences that will now take place in January and possibly into February.
However, many teachers have defended the changes, offering insight on why the earlier timeline may actually be beneficial. For instance, students will be able to bring any issues they have with their schedule to their counselors sooner, relieving most problems regarding scheduling problems.
“I think it’s great that signing day and scheduling is happening earlier this year. This will allow more planning time for scheduling electives,” said Mrs. Hamilton, BHS’s piano accompanist.
Hamilton praised the scheduling changes. Having witnessed the impacts of rushed scheduling in the music programs, she pointed out that this is a beneficial change for elective teachers because they will know what classes to run and the numbers for the classes sooner. This will allow for less of a time crunch when setting up electives for next year, ultimately giving teachers like Hamilton a better idea about which classes they may be running. Subsequently, better preparations will be made with the extra time.
Though many teachers and students remain divided on the issue, the administration and counseling department expressed hopes that the change will ultimately provide a smoother transition into the 2025-2026 school year.
