SCHEDULING PROCESS FOR 2026/27

Initial Course Requests - Scheduling is done with all students in January and February. Classroom presentations reviewed graduation requirements and classes being offered. There were clear directions about special accommodation requests on the course selection sheet (Late Arrival, Early Release, “double” Early Release). After mid-February, course requests are locked. School counselors are not able to access any schedule changes because the Principal is staffing and building the master schedule.

Change in Course Requests - There are circumstances in which students wish to change a course request after Mid-February when course requests are locked. During this time, students or parents/guardians may WITSmail their school counselor with such requests. Over the summer, the school counselor will review all requests and will make changes based on availability and class size limitations. There are NO GUARANTEES. You may not hear from your counselor right away in the summer. They are only in a few sporadic days and will work on requests received on those days. PLEASE NOTE: Any schedule changes that come in later in the summer may not be addressed immediately due to the counselors being required to attend mandatory training days in August. If changes are not made in late August, the students should follow their schedule and the requests will be addressed during the ADD/DROP week described below.

Release of Schedules - Classes are balanced evenly when the Master Schedule is completed. Great care is taken to make sure each child is in a class that is appropriately sized to maximize their learning opportunities. To keep classes from becoming unbalanced, we will not be accepting ANY schedule changes after the full schedule is released (with teacher names and rooms) through WITS towards the end of August. The ONLY exception is for errors and mistakes on students' schedules, which will be corrected. Examples would be: PE class missing on schedule, or being in the wrong World Language class, ex. French 2A is on my schedule, and it should be Spanish 2A. Not getting an Early Release would not be considered an error or mistake. Requests for early releases will not be honored during the first week of school. Also... For a students to be eligible for an early release or late arrival, a parent/guardians MUST approve their child's schedule in WITS. More details on how to do this will be in future editions of North Highlights.

Schedule Changes - There will be an ADD/DROP week for students who want to try and change a class, but this will only be done in the second full week of September. Schedule changes are not guaranteed. Any changes made during ADD/DROP week can't unbalance any class sizes. During the ADD/DROP week, we will only allow changes for level or elective, not to be with friends, changes teachers, etc. A parent or guardian must initiate the ADD/DROP process with a WITSmail BEFORE you go to student services for a schedule change. Family communication is required with any ADD/DROP requests.