Course availability for the 2018-2019 school year affected by schedule changes

Gracie Warda, Online Editor

As plans for the 2018-2019 school year are set in place, changes to course availability come into play. The adjustments in the upcoming school year constitute decreasing staff size, and consequently, class availability. Current World issues, Sociology, AP Computer Science, Geometry Support and Ecology have been cut, and will not be available in upcoming years. American Legal System, Mentor Training, Algebra two Support and Technology for Life will also be among those classes unavailable next year, however they were not offered this year, either.  

“The ones that we won’t be putting in the handbook are ones that we haven’t offered for a while,” Principal Mark Suchowski said. “We didn’t offer them this year  because students didn’t want them. There weren’t enough people who signed up. We didn’t even put them in the curriculum guide for next year for students to choose because the number of electives they get to choose is going down.”

Class availability is mainly affected by changes in staffing and demand. As less teachers are around to teach, less classes will be available for students to take. Additionally, if not enough students choose to take a class, it could also be cut.

“Every single class that’s not a requirement potentially could be cut if not enough students sign up for it,” Suchowski said. “If only three students sign up for Advanced Desktop Publishing, I can’t run a class just for them.”

So many changes may lead one to wonder if any classes will be joining the lineup in upcoming years.

“At this time there won’t be any additions,” Suchowski said. “We haven’t talked about adding anything. I think it will be a multi-year process by which we determine which classes run and which ones don’t, so it might be two years or more before we realize which way students are choosing.”

A completed curriculum guide will be available in the next two weeks. Class meetings are also beginning in early February to begin planning for next year. For more information on availability next year, see a counselor.