As the school year begins, many students receive schedules that do not fit the courses they planned to take. However, students receive help from the administration in altering their schedules, allowing a quick resolution.

To change their schedules, students must make an appointment with Principal Todd Bennett in the high school office or Academic Advisor Michelle Warkentin in her office upstairs.

Many students have already adjusted their schedules, and Warkentin believes that it is not a large issue, despite the problems of maneuverability a small school creates.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a huge issue,” Warkentin said. “It’s just that since we are a small school it’s more difficult than a public school; there are less options here, so we are a little more limited. We’ve pretty much taken care of it the first week of school.”

For those who still need to change their schedules, Warkentin explains the process.

“It’s really just evaluating what’s most important to the student,” Warkentin said. “We need to look into what college they want to go to, so that needs to be decided early on because the UC [University of California] requirements are different from a four-year college. I try to sit down with each student and think of a rough draft for a four-year plan.”

Most people are able to successfully adjust their schedules. Zoe House, ’16, needed to changer her schedule and was pleased with the schedule changing process.

“I went to the downstairs office and had my schedule changed with Mr. Bennett,” House said. “It was very easy and did not take long. I was quite satisfied with the result.”

Some students, however, were still not completely satisfied with their schedules. Jason Kim, ’14, wishes some classes were taught in more than one period.

“I did not quite get the schedule I wanted, but I’m fairly satisfied,” Jason said. “I think there should be more periods of classes, for example, I would like it if Chinese II was not just during fourth period, but in other periods as well. This would give me more flexibility.”

Principal Todd Bennett also sees the difficulty in classes offered in only one period.

“There are so many classes and such a small student body,” Bennett said. “Many classes can only be offered during a single period. This makes it hard to give everyone their perfect schedule.”

Bennett understands the reasons for many schedule conflicts, but believes that the problems are no worse this year than previous years.

“We hand out all those class papers in the spring,” Bennett said. “So they can sit down with their parents and see what they want to take. Most, but not all of the students fill those out, and some don’t even turn them in. Mr. Martens and I try to try to set up a schedule in which students get everything they need. We have about the same number of students with schedule conflicts as last year, maybe even less.”

For more information regarding schedule changes, contact Warkentin at [email protected], or call at 559-299-1965 Ext. 126. She is available at her office on Mondays and Wednesdays.

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