Sometimes, scheduling– especially for electives –can seem like rolling a die. A student asks for an elective and gets a study hall instead. For the teachers and administrators who put the work into constructing the schedule, a more apt analogy might be a giant game of Tetris: one with hundreds of pieces falling simultaneously.
According to Principal Julia Sniffen, unlike most schools in the country, Haldane builds its schedule from the ground up every single year. The administrative team inputs all the classes available that year and everything students put down on their Course Request Form and teacher availability into a computer program, Power Scheduler. That program then builds a schedule to fulfill the maximum number of student requests possible while fulfilling the priorities baked into the system. Priorities are assigned to each course and each grade. For example, the program fills out senior schedules first, then juniors, etc. The program also prioritizes core classes over electives and core classes that are only offered for a single period versus those offered for multiple periods. All of these variables work together to try and accommodate as many students as possible.
After the program creates the schedule, the administrative team will be informed of the percentage of students’ course requests being addressed. Then comes the most arduous part of the process: hand scheduling. “That’s when you look kid by kid, student by student, elective option by elective option to try to get them into a place that seems appropriate,” said Sniffen.
After this “Master Schedule” is created and tweaked, the schedules are sent out via PowerSchool, and the students have the opportunity to request any schedule changes. guidance counselor Amanda Cotchen stated, “We try to get right on it the first time, of course, but inevitably, students grow, their interests change, and so sometimes, they want to make changes.”
Accommodations are made if the changes are possible and for a justifiable reason. However, Cotchen noted that some student scheduling motives are less of a priority. “People talk with their friends, and then they want to make changes based on their friends’ schedules,” she said. “We don’t typically accommodate that type of change unless it helps us balance a class.”
Fitting students’ scheduling requests together can sometimes be complicated and impossible at others. In those cases where classes are impossible to fit into the Master Schedule, Haldane also provides some alternatives. For example, a 10th-period Chorus option is offered, which allows students to participate in Chorus when it doesn’t fit into their regular school day schedule. Another alternative offered is “Independent Study Physical Education,” which involves self-guided fitness and check-in logs and is sometimes used to replace the normally required Phys-Ed classes if none of the classes fit into a student’s schedule.
Another example of Haldane’s accommodations is in the schedule of sophomore Frances Donahue, who wasn’t going to be able to progress in art classes this year due to a conflict with Health class. To solve this, Donahue’s schedule is unique. She stated, “There were no options for me to take these classes during different periods because of my other classes, so now I take art for only a half-credit on white days and Health on alternating days. It works out for me in the long run, but I have difficulties with the amount of time for my art projects. Thankfully, the art teachers are understanding.”
Unfortunately, not all student requests can be accommodated. Sophomore Plum Severs wanted to take the Introduction to Calculus course online over the summer so that she could take AP Calculus junior year, and a more advanced calculus course through Dutchess Community College senior year– but it wasn’t possible. Severs doesn’t blame the administration. She said, “I was able to talk to multiple teachers about it who were all willing to discuss the possibility with me and knew who I should speak with about it. I ended up emailing Mr. Hoolan about it, and he made it clear that, unfortunately, precalc, which was the only offered summer class, simply doesn’t cover enough information.” But she did wish she “had been pushed more” when she was approaching freshman year. “For example,” she said, “being encouraged and told [by guidance counselors] that taking geometry and [Algebra II/Trigonometry] at the same time was an option.”
The Course Request Form is the most important tool students have to plan their schedules. Here, Cotchen said that for scheduling, “it’s about ensuring balance. You guys are growing. You need to make sure you’re getting sleep. There will be a time in college for all-nighters, but we don’t want students sacrificing the other pieces of their lives that make you guys who you are.” But, she continued, “In terms of electives, we encourage students to pursue an area of interest … be smart with your choices so that it aligns with what your secondary goals are or what you’re considering. If students aren’t sure, especially in freshman and sophomore years, necessarily what they want to consider, then we encourage students to take elective classes, really to maybe spark an interest. Find out what you like, find out what you don’t like.”
A problem arises when students want to take courses not offered by the school. Most of the time, the school makes use of Educere, a New York State-approved online learning platform that offers virtual classes for numerous different courses. However, one concern with the platform is that it does not offer the same educational quality as Haldane classes. It has 1.3 out of 5 stars on Google reviews, with users citing lessons as “treating us like zombies” and grading as inconsistent. One Google review went so far as to call it “the worst imaginable self-instruction program there is.” These reviews seem to be fairly on par with some student experiences.
According to Principal Sniffen, because of teacher contracts, the platform cannot be used to take courses offered by Haldane, only to supplement the curriculum with additional courses that the school doesn’t offer. For example, senior Kira Drury took the Statistics course during the 2023-2024 school year. She said the course “didn’t quite teach me the materials at the level I wish it had.” She also said that she wasn’t able to start the program as early as she wanted to. “I tried signing up at the beginning of the school year, and it didn’t start [until] almost October.” However, Drury conceded that not all of the blame is Educere’s. “I was not very good at making sure I stayed on top of my work because I tend to get distracted, but other people I know of have really enjoyed it. My friend Judine [senior Judine Cox] finished her ASL course a full quarter early, and she’s taking the second course this year, and she really enjoys it.”
Cotchen agrees that Educere can be a mixed bag: “I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of it,” she said. It’s fine for students who need to use it for credit recovery – meaning they failed a course during the year and need to take it over the summer – but we have students who take it for original credit, and some do really well. Some struggle. That’s because it’s highly independent and it’s self-paced.”
Educere is what is officially endorsed by the school, but it isn’t the only possible program that can be used by students. Junior Seth Lunin-Pack has found success using an alternate program at aphomeschoolers.com. During the 2023-2024 school year, Lunin-Pack used the platform to complete AP Computer Programming, and this year he is in the process of finishing AP Chemistry.
Once students start the school year with their classes, it isn’t final. Through the Course Schedule Change Request Form, students can choose to drop or switch classes. According to Cotchen, “We like to make the changes two weeks into the school year so that you’re not missing instruction if you go into a different class. So if a student drops something after the first quarter, then they get a W on their transcript, which stands for withdrawal, which, then for applying to colleges, is not favorable.”
The administration tries its best to make accommodations, even in cases where not every class can fit. Sniffen said, “I think that scheduling is a puzzle. I love puzzles. I think we do a pretty good job of trying to get students into the courses they want. Our teachers are incredibly flexible and incredibly creative at times if necessary, which makes my job so much easier that they’re willing to say, ‘Okay, this student can’t be an AP if only Honors fit, but let’s let them sit for the AP exam even though the course didn’t fit.’ And they do that.” She continued, “They take honors English, but then they sit for the AP exam. And we’ve found success with that. It’s not the ideal, but our teachers are flexible, and I’m super proud of that. It makes my job a heck of a lot easier.”
