by David Kent| staff writer
With the end of first semester quickly approaching, a time window has opened up to students all over campus to begin changing electives for second semester.
“Once we get those first few weeks of a semester, a student can’t really drop a class until second semester. Because they would be too far behind in the other class they would be going to,” Johnson counselor, Courtney Tarbox, said. “So there becomes a point where the student won’t be able to transition to another curriculum because they’ll have so many grades and so much time has passed that they’ll need to stay in that same class to finish the semester.”
Course changes are seen most often during the first three weeks of the school year, rather than the rest of the year.
“Once we get past those first three weeks of school there’s really not alot of course changes except for level drops. So, if a student is in an AP or Pre-AP course that is very challenging and maybe they’re struggling with, then they can do a level drop to the equivalent course,” Tarbox said. “So for example they may be in AP-World History, then if they’re not being successful there within that first nine week grading period they may make to drop down to Pre-AP World History or regular history.”
The process to drop a class or just drop down a level is designed to be a quick and easy process.
“The process is a student starts by talking to their teacher because their teacher will know how the students doing in class, the curriculum and things that are coming up,” Tarbox said. “So they may give good advice to the student, they may give good advice and just tell them to hang in there and pull it off and they may be able to be successful in that class with a little extra effort. Or, a teacher will know if that student is really struggling and would be better for them to go to a lower level class, a regular level class, or a Pre-AP class.”
The deadline to drop a class or just change it for second semester is December 15th. Students will need to talk with their parents, teachers, and counselors prior to dropping a class for second semester. With dropping classes or going down a level, students will have to get a form.
“To make a second semester change, there is no form. They would just need to talk to their counselor. If the semester has already started and they want to make a level drop in 1st semester, their is a level drop form they’ll get a form from their teacher,” Tarbox said. “Yes, we do use a form early on [to drop electives] at the beginning of the school year, where they get the signature from their elective teacher that it’s okay to drop and they get a signature from the teacher they’re going intot. So there are some forms at the very beginning of the year for that.”
Students are currently dropping courses through the counseling office and are encouraged to do so as soon as possible in order to make sure they get the change they are seeking.
“Now we are in a window right now where students could make choices to potentially drop or change a class for second semester,” Tarbox said. “And again, that would be something that a student would need to be sure they talk with their families or parents, their teacher and come talk with their counselors if they’re interested in making a chance for second semester.”
