Izzy Bernie

As the new semester begins, many students have made schedule changes. What is really going on behind the scenes? Upper School Classics Department Chair and Latin teacher Dr. Danziger shares trends in scheduling, popular electives, and what students might misunderstand about the process of course selection for the new grading period. 

While the average class size for this semester is still being finalized, certain electives have stood out in popularity. “Photo 1 was a very popular choice for this second semester,” Dr. Danziger shared. “One of the sections has been full for a while.” Other high demand electives this semester include Public Speaking and Computer Science Explorations, which suggests strong demand for both creative electives and skill building classes. 

Looking at the year as a whole, Photo 1, Ceramics 1, and Public Speaking have consistently ranked among the most requested electives. The popularity of visual arts courses in particular reflects a steady demand for project based classes that offer a break from traditional academic classwork. Visual and performance based courses tend to attract high enrollment numbers, particularly among the underclassmen. 

In fact, one noticeable trend this year is that more 9th graders are enrolling in two electives per semester, which is something Dr. Danziger describes as “a new thing.” This change suggests that students are thinking about their four year plans earlier than before. 

Many semester long electives, in either visual arts, drama, music, or computer science, are heavily populated by 9th and 10th graders. This is partly strategic in the sense that students are increasingly trying to complete graduation requirements by the end of sophomore year with the goal of having more free time later on for independent studies or specialized electives in their junior and senior years. 

However, the scheduling process itself has changed in an important way this year. For the first time, the entire school year including both semesters was scheduled at once last summer. In previous years, second semester electives were scheduled just prior to the start of each semester.  

Because the entire year is now scheduled simultaneously, it is now especially important that students think carefully during the March and April course selection period. Dr. Danziger emphasized that ranking electives thoughtfully and listing choices in order of preference or priority gives schedulers the best information to work with and increases students’ chances of getting the courses that they want. 

Another important factor students should keep in mind is enrollment. Some electives may not run if too few students sign up. This makes it especially important to list multiple choices rather than relying on a single preferred class. 

As scheduling becomes more complex, it is clear that planning both wisely and ahead makes all the difference in shaping a student’s academic success and experience.