New Administration Brings New Course Scheduling Policies
Changes to AP courses in addition to a returning and updated AP contract creates new obstacles in scheduling.
By Mia Howell
Changes to AP courses in addition to a returning and updated AP contract creates new obstacles in scheduling.
By Mia Howell
As the spring semester begins, students have started thinking about their future course loads for the 2023-24 school year. Starting Feb. 13, current juniors, sophomores and freshmen will begin course selections for the upcoming school year following presentations done by the academic counseling staff in English classes.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when enrolling in Advanced Placement, accelerated and honors courses, students were required to sign contracts saying that they would not drop those classes. For the past two years, this process had been put on hold, but it will now make a return for class scheduling for the 2023-2024 school year.
Students will have until April 21 to turn in their AP contracts and the only time after that when students will be allowed to drop a course is when the next school year begins. However, students will have a three day drop period in the beginning of the year where they will be allowed to drop any class without consequences. In the event that dropping a class is necessary after three days, a student will receive an F in that course, which will be present on their transcript.
“One of the things that we’re working towards, is educating students about what to expect in an AP course before making their final decision,” said Assistant Principal of Instruction Alison Zuniga. “Between March and April, we are going to work with the AP, honors and accelerated teachers to host a workshop during the school day to invite the students who have registered for those courses to their classrooms so that they can be educated on what to expect, what the workload is going to be like (and) any summer work that is required, so that students can make an educated decision.”
AP, honors and accelerated courses are known for their rigorous workload, they look good on college applications and for AP courses, depending on the college and the score they receive on the AP exam, allow students to skip ahead.
“I know that AP classes are tough, so if you’re planning on taking them, you should really be sure that you want to take the class, and not just take it to look good for college,” said Mahalie Barlow, 11.
Oftentimes, taking a heavy and challenging course load is something that many students choose to endure due to the pressure of applying to competitive colleges. As a result, students often prioritize these classes over mental health, exercise and even sleep.
“I hope students will be careful with not taking too many (AP classes),” said history teacher Peter Glasser. “You just want to remember that there are only 24 hours in a day, and you need eight to sleep and one to exercise so you have 15 hours leftover.”
Despite the steps the school is taking to help students decide what courses to take next year, some students are hesitant. Gabbie Acosta, 10, is taking AP European History this year and plans to take AP United States History for the 2023-24 school year.
“I mean, how can you be 100% certain if you haven’t even taken the class yet?” said Acosta.
Along with the new changes to the schedule selection process, there are also changes to some of the courses offered at Pioneer. As of next school year, San Jose Unified School District will offer and pay for online drivers education courses for any sophomore students through Edgenuity. In addition to that, there are changes to some classes for seniors. In order to graduate, SJUSD requires all students to take three years of history, which must include either government or economics during their senior year. In the past, Pioneer has only allowed seniors to take either Government/Economics, AP Economics or AP Government and Politics, however, during the 2023-24 school year, seniors can take both AP Econ and AP Gov occurring during two different periods.
“For any humanities major, especially someone going into one of the social sciences, it exposes the student to much more,” said social studies department chair Mike Burrell. “I can think of a variety of political or business oriented jobs where you need to understand both the various aspects of government and economics.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when enrolling in Advanced Placement, accelerated and honors courses, students were required to sign contracts saying that they would not drop those classes. For the past two years, this process had been put on hold, but it will now make a return for class scheduling for the 2023-2024 school year.
Students will have until April 21 to turn in their AP contracts and the only time after that when students will be allowed to drop a course is when the next school year begins. However, students will have a three day drop period in the beginning of the year where they will be allowed to drop any class without consequences. In the event that dropping a class is necessary after three days, a student will receive an F in that course, which will be present on their transcript.
“One of the things that we’re working towards, is educating students about what to expect in an AP course before making their final decision,” said Assistant Principal of Instruction Alison Zuniga. “Between March and April, we are going to work with the AP, honors and accelerated teachers to host a workshop during the school day to invite the students who have registered for those courses to their classrooms so that they can be educated on what to expect, what the workload is going to be like (and) any summer work that is required, so that students can make an educated decision.”
AP, honors and accelerated courses are known for their rigorous workload, they look good on college applications and for AP courses, depending on the college and the score they receive on the AP exam, allow students to skip ahead.
“I know that AP classes are tough, so if you’re planning on taking them, you should really be sure that you want to take the class, and not just take it to look good for college,” said Mahalie Barlow, 11.
Oftentimes, taking a heavy and challenging course load is something that many students choose to endure due to the pressure of applying to competitive colleges. As a result, students often prioritize these classes over mental health, exercise and even sleep.
“I hope students will be careful with not taking too many (AP classes),” said history teacher Peter Glasser. “You just want to remember that there are only 24 hours in a day, and you need eight to sleep and one to exercise so you have 15 hours leftover.”
Despite the steps the school is taking to help students decide what courses to take next year, some students are hesitant. Gabbie Acosta, 10, is taking AP European History this year and plans to take AP United States History for the 2023-24 school year.
“I mean, how can you be 100% certain if you haven’t even taken the class yet?” said Acosta.
Along with the new changes to the schedule selection process, there are also changes to some of the courses offered at Pioneer. As of next school year, San Jose Unified School District will offer and pay for online drivers education courses for any sophomore students through Edgenuity. In addition to that, there are changes to some classes for seniors. In order to graduate, SJUSD requires all students to take three years of history, which must include either government or economics during their senior year. In the past, Pioneer has only allowed seniors to take either Government/Economics, AP Economics or AP Government and Politics, however, during the 2023-24 school year, seniors can take both AP Econ and AP Gov occurring during two different periods.
“For any humanities major, especially someone going into one of the social sciences, it exposes the student to much more,” said social studies department chair Mike Burrell. “I can think of a variety of political or business oriented jobs where you need to understand both the various aspects of government and economics.