As a followup to the recent course expo, the Upper School administration implemented an automated form that allows students to take a more active role in their academic journey. This approach allows students to discuss their course selections with teachers before submitting their requests to counselors.

“This change made all the information easily accessible, nicely presented, and clear for students to understand what they can take the next year. This also saves a lot of paper,” explained Physics teacher Ms. Valdenegro, who led the changes to the new class enrollment process.

The primary objective involving course enrollment is to prioritize student agency. The emphasis on Student Agency will further increase high schoolers’ involvement in the process by incorporating personalization while also applying an individualized aspect into the experience.

“Our focus is on empowering students through this automated system,” Dean of Academics and Curriculum Ms. Velez said. “Students take ownership of their education through voice and choice [Student Agency] rather than leaving the majority of the course decision making to the teachers.”

This change grants the finalization of students’ next year schedule before summer break, alleviating stress and reducing the number of scheduling conflicts. Instead of the cumbersome paper-based process, students now fill out a Google Form where every department can view and provide the recommendations for the next level. As a result of this multifaceted approach, school counselors will now be able to view all the information of each student with the click of a button.

“Every year, we review these processes and implement a personal touch with students’ interests and needs in mind. “This year, we hope to exceed the prior 92% rate of meeting students’ first choices for classes.”

This modified registration system, derived from the Science Department’s class enrollment methods, serves as a standard for efficiency and efficacy and further streamlined the process to centralized teacher recommendations. Students now can view a comprehensive overview of their academic journey.

“The Science Department has always utilized a document with questions regarding the student’s goals for the future, the classes we offer, the prerequisites and core requisites for these classes, and if the students want to add anything for the teachers to help with the recommendation,” Valdenegro explained. “The document was adopted by other departments last year and turned out better than I expected.”

The first step to the new and improved course registration process was the Course Expo, which took place Dec. 2023. The Course Expo, offered students a firsthand experience to explore and evaluate potential courses. It was a hands-on experience that gave students a sneak peek into the variety of courses available, encouraging them to build a connection with their potential academic pursuits.

“During the Expo I was able to speak to upperclassmen who take Global Politics. They made the class seem fun and inspired me to apply for the class my sophomore year,” freshman Joaquin Desek said.

The course registration process will evolve over time, with this major automated change being only the beginning.

“The Google Form is a temporary solution until a more permanent one is available,” Valdenegro explained. “Of course with anything new, there are bound to be a few hiccups along the way — we will plan on adapting to them.”