Schedule Changes

In a school the size of Bloomfield High School, it is inevitable that conflicts will arise between students, and, less often, between students and faculty members. BHS maintains the healthy attitude that problems are best solved by addressing them, rather than avoiding them. As such, we will not change schedules on the basis of personality conflicts. Students need to learn how to resolve conflicts and address problems that occur in a mature and responsible matter.

To that end, we ask that the following series of steps be taken to address conflicts, rather than immediately going to the counselor and asking for a schedule change.

1.    Students should always advocate for themselves first by meeting with the teacher directly to address the problem, whether it’s with other students or the teacher. In the vast majority of instances, this simple step resolves the problem.

2.    If a teacher-student meeting is unproductive or not feasible, students should go to their school counselors and request a meeting with the counselor and teacher. Counselors are able to moderate the meetings and provide a balanced perspective to most problems.

3.    If the problem remains after meeting with the counselor, the parent should request a meeting with the teacher and subject supervisor (or school administrator if the supervisor is not available), and counselor. Preferably the student should attend the meeting, as well.

4.    If the parent meeting fails to resolve the problem and the issue continues to disrupt normal student learning, the school counselor should refer the case to the crisis counselor to determine the next level of action. The crisis counselor can recommend a range of solutions, starting at simply continuing the dialogue with the teacher and student, up through the most drastic solution of changing a schedule. If a schedule change is recommended, the crisis counselor will make this recommendation to a school administrator to approve.

Please note: if the situation presents itself as bullying or harassment, the school’s procedure for reporting bullying should be initiated right away, rather than continuing to follow the steps above. If in the initial teacher meeting the teacher believes that the student is a victim of bullying or harassment, the teacher has an obligation to immediately report it to the Dean of Discipline or a school administrator. The above procedure is for addressing isolated incidents or any incident that doesn’t rise to the level of bullying or harassment, as defined in New Jersey’s HIB laws.

Requests for the following schedule changes cannot be accommodated:

1. Lunch period (unless a doctor’s note is provided with a valid reason and if there is space)

2. Teacher changes

3. Period of a class