For any high school student, choosing classes and receiving your official schedule is one of the most nerve-wracking and stressful times of the year. From curating a challenging course rigor to just being in a class with your friends, a student’s schedule could make or break how they start their year. With that being said, many students tend to change their minds once the school year begins. From disliking a teacher to receiving coursework too challenging for them, CVHS students have always had the option to make schedule changes through the first few weeks of school. However, a recent change in trends has seen a much higher percentage of students requesting to drop down from AP/DE/HN, change teachers, switch periods, or replace their courses as a whole. These sudden changes from students has led the school administration to decide that students will no longer be permitted to make schedule changes starting in the fall of 2025.
Joanna Choi, a current sophomore at CVHS heavily disagrees with the decision. Joanna has made schedule changes at Centreville HS and believes that students should continue to have the option to make changes in their schedule at the beginning of the school year.
“I think the change is unreasonable. [Because] a lot of students don’t really know what they’re getting into in a class,” said Choi. “[So] if a class is too hard they’ll be stuck there for the rest of the year. Like what if you get a bad teacher? You’re just there for the rest of the year.”
On the other hand, many teachers believe the rule is beneficial. A longtime math teacher at CVHS, Mrs. Hwang is a strong advocate for this change, believing it would make the staff and teacher jobs easier while also holding students accountable for the decisions they make. In an interview, she stated “I like it. I’ve always thought it was such a hot mess in this building. Way worse than other schools at least. We do staffing based on who’s in the classes, so when you allow students to freely change classes, [it] messes up a lot of things. I think students should have to commit to what they say they want to do.”
A survey taken by students found that about 70% of students have made at least one schedule change so far in their time at CVHS. The survey also found that roughly 95% of students believe that students should be able to make schedule changes after the school year begins. When asked why they make schedule changes, the most common reasons included difficult teachers, unexpected coursework, and lack of friends in a class. With this privilege being taken away next school year, students are expected to conclude their decisions by June 2025 for their final schedule.
CVHS believes students should prepare and do their own research on classes before locking in their final requests by asking around and checking course material before finalizing a course request. By denying schedule changes, students are encouraged to research their selected courses before locking them in.
Former CVHS alumni and former FCPS math teacher Karsten Kim, however, largely disagrees with the decision. Graduating from the class of 2015, Karsten attended CVHS for all four years of high school and, although seldomly, did make schedule changes. In his experience as a math teacher, Karsten believed students should be able to make schedule changes, but did his very best to discourage the behavior.
“[I am] a little shocked, a little nervous, and a little curious if the principal has had sufficient communication with the student body on the decision. I see the potential good with the teachers, so they don’t have to worry about kids changing and dropping classes… But I wonder if there is any room for extenuating circumstances… There should be some wiggle room for students that need it…” Karsten said. “ I hope as much as the principal is trying to create policies that prevent certain behavior he also considers how to unify all the staff to teach students to make thoughtful planning in the future.” Karsten speaks on his methods to discourage schedule changes without downright banning the privilege. “When I taught math, we dedicated a full day to explaining what each future course offers, and displayed specific coursework from those classes. We would show test questions from the class so students have an idea of what exactly they would see in those classes.”
When asked about the change, most students were unaware that it had even happened. Many students feel that the ban is coming “out of left field.” Others believe that it’s unrealistic to think that a student would know what’s exactly being offered in classes through short excerpts, and there should continue to be a 2 week grace period for students to make changes.
As of now, there is currently no discussion about the rule amongst the staff, and the decision seems to be definite. Students with questions can ask their counselors about the change.
