Course Selection & Scheduling TIMELINE

Teachers discuss and present information to students regarding course and level options within their subject area. Teachers in English, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Languages, and some areas of the arts, including Staples and eighth-grade teachers, offer course and level recommendations for each student in their class. Course recommendations can be viewed by students and parents/guardians through the PowerSchool online portal. Teachers take great care in recommending courses, and students are encouraged to thoughtfully consider their perspective in their decision-making process.

If a student and their parent/guardian(s) wish to override a teacher’s recommendation, they must complete the Override Form. Consider carefully not just the difficulty of the course being waived into, but the volume of work required for the course load overall. For more information regarding course overrides, click here.

During this period of time, students plan their courses of study for the following academic year. Students pre-register for courses online through the PowerSchool portal, then meet individually with their school counselor to discuss plans, ensure all requirements are met, and finalize all selections, including alternate choices for electives, according to the following schedule:

• February 9-13: Course pre-registration through PowerSchool for current grade levels 9-11

• Current Grade 11 / Rising Grade 12

• • • Individual student/counselor appointments: February 23-27

• Current Grade 10 / Rising Grade 11

  • • Individual student/counselor appointments: March 2-6

• Current Grade 9 / Rising Grade 10

  • • Individual student/counselor appointments: March 9-13

• Current Grade 8 / Rising Grade 9

  • • Pre-Registration: February 25, 2026 (BMS), February 26, 2026 (CMS)

    • Individual student/counselor appointments: March 2-13

The deadline for all changes to course requests and to override a teacher’s recommendation is Friday, March 27. Students are committed to their selected courses for the next school year. Students who do not pre-register or meet with their school counselor during the course selection window will have their courses chosen for them.

Throughout April and May, the administration processes student course requests, determines whether courses have sufficient enrollment to run and the number of sections for each course, assigns available staffing, and creates the master schedule. Alongside the master schedule development, the Board of Education finalizes its budget to determine staffing levels and available resources for the coming school year. The master schedule is developed largely based on the course requests made by students. Every effort will be made to offer a sufficient number of sections to meet all student requests for a course. However, a course may be canceled if there is not a sufficient number of student requests or due to staffing, facility, and/or budgetary limitations. Conversely, when more students request a course than can be accommodated, not all students may be able to enroll in the course. If this is the case, unless otherwise specified in the course description, priority will be given to students by grade level, teacher recommendation, and the student’s need to fulfill a graduation requirement.

In June, students will receive verification of their scheduled courses, without teacher names or periods. Students are responsible for contacting their school counselor at this time if there are errors.

Since the master schedule is built each year primarily based on what students select, the majority of course requests are typically met. In some cases, however, students are placed into alternate choices, either due to limited space availability in a course, a course being canceled due to insufficient enrollment, or a conflict between courses meeting during the same period. As a result, students and their families must prepare for the possibility that they will not receive all of their course requests. For semester courses, requests for a specific semester are not guaranteed.  Students are assigned to a specific semester in order to balance class sizes and so that the course can fit in the student's overall schedule.  School counselors will resolve schedule conflicts with any impacted students before the end of the school year.

There are few substantive reasons for requesting course changes at this time, and such requests will follow a waitlist process. Students must complete the Course/Schedule Change Request Form, with student and parent/guardian signatures, and clearly state legitimate educational rationale for the request. Requests will be reviewed before schedules are released. Changes will require administrative approval, are subject to space availability, and will only be granted in rare circumstances.

In August, students will be able to view their complete schedule online through the PowerSchool portal. It is expected that schedules will remain firm and students are committed to their scheduled courses for the full school year.