Students can maximize their educational experience at the beginning of March by choosing courses very carefully that align with their interests and future during course selection. Thoughtful course selection not only helps students’ academic journey, but also equips them with the necessary skills and knowledge for their future careers.
One option for students is taking a college course. Counselor, Jocelyn Kraus, said, “There are many benefits of taking college courses in high school.” One of the benefits is financial. Students are more likely to save money by taking a college class in high school rather than waiting until college to take that class. Kraus said, “Dual enrollment is an opportunity to experience the college experiences, and still be able to have support from your high school.” She believes it, “helps in transition, it is challenging, socially different and it takes the academic stress of college and dials it down, and when you go to college you will have a foundation to start from.”
Course selection has a major impact on students and staff at this time of transition. For students, Kraus explained that there is excitement in picking potential classes for next year and the idea that they can give input on classes and how much they want that class. Staff look at demand tallies and that determines if they have the class and how many classes they might have of that certain course. Kraus said, “They get together as a department and outline how many classes and who will teach each class.”
Most students may not understand that by going to Cumberland-Perry Area Vocational Technical School, the student loses the opportunity to take more elective classes here at Big Spring. When students go to CPAVTS, they count as the credits for elective classes. The student will come to Big Spring and will take the English, math, and science classes needed to graduate.
When junior and senior year approaches, students become available for internships, whether that is in the morning or afternoon. When selecting courses there is a button that students push to be put on a list of people who are interested in doing one. Internship coordinator, Cherie Powell said, “To sign up for an internship, students need to choose Internship as one of their elective courses. After course selection, I will have all of those students who chose [the] Internship complete an application to determine their career interests. During the summer months, I reach out to individual students to discuss possible placements/programs for the student. Both the student and I will look for possible locations. This may also involve interviews with potential employers. Once an employer agrees to mentor a student, an agreement needs to be signed by the mentor/employer, students, and parent/guardian of the student. After all paperwork has been completed and returned, a student’s schedule is officially changed.” Some internships are year-long, spring-summer, and towards the fall. Once the student secures the internship their counselor will adjust the student’s schedule accordingly.
Although the course selection guide is not out yet, talking to Kraus, explains some changes relating to course selection that she can not talk about yet. However, if there were going to be any credit requirement changes and if she could explain that Kraus said, “I can’t talk about that yet…”
Kraus said she is not aware of any new class changes for next year. Principal Michael Carnes said, “I believe we have added or are looking to add Modern Band 2 to the course offerings. The addition of this course is due to the success of Modern Band from this year.” According to Finn Mcnaughton, 12, who took the class describes Modern Band as “It was a really interesting experience because I enjoyed playing and performing with new musicians.”
