Message for families of incoming 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders!
It’s high school scheduling season! Your high school counselors would like to encourage students and their families to begin having conversations about their next year’s high school schedule and future plans. Please take the time to visit our Course Handbook 2024-2025 which details graduation requirements, course descriptions, flowcharts, recommended classes for various career clusters, and more!
The next part of this message is to inform our students and families of the new process and policy that Charles City High School will be using for student schedules. We will be using a student-led course request system in which students will be able to submit their requests on PowerSchool during a designated time at school. Then, based on courses that can be offered and seat availability, the system will automatically build schedules for us. The plan is to begin this process the week of April 29th. Students will be able to view their 2024-2025 school year’s schedule in August which means that no changes will take place prior to summer break.
The goals of this new procedure include:
(1) To allow students and their families to make informed and purposeful choices on the courses they request;
(3) To provide equal opportunities for students to be in classes that they want;
(3) To balance class sizes and improve the learning environment;
(4) To create structure and boundaries around schedule changes; and
(5) To give counselors and administrators the time and capacity to ensure students are meeting graduation requirements.
Note that students who receive Special Education services will be completing their course requests with their roster teacher during the weeks after ISASP testing.
In addition, this is the new schedule change policy which is also on page 17 of the course handbook:
Schedule changes are not allowed on the first day of each semester. Only students who find errors in their schedule (missing class periods, double booked, already took a class and can’t repeat it, etc.) are allowed to meet with their school counselor on the first day of the semester to fix their schedule. All other schedule changes must be done by the fifth day of each semester. After the first five days of the semester, schedule changes may be initiated by teachers, counselors, or administration, but not by students. All schedule changes must be accompanied by the Parent/Guardian Permission Form, which can be found in your school counselor’s office.
Valid Schedule Changes:
- Current classes don’t reflect four year plans and career goals
- Rigor level of the class is too easy or too hard for a student
- Needing to meet graduation requirements
- Student did not take the prerequisite
- Missing a core academic class
- Wanting to take Band, Choir, or Orchestra and need to move classes around
Invalid Schedule Changes:
- Wanting to be in classes with their friends
- Wanting to change teachers
- Wanting a different lunch
- Not wanting to take a specific class at a certain time (i.e., PE in the morning)
Thank you to all of our students and families! Good luck with the rest of the school year. Let your team know if you have any questions or concerns.
- Mr. Bliss (principal)
- Ms. Johnson (associate principal)
- Mrs. Smith (counselor; class of 2025 and 2027)
- Ms. Brandau (counselor; class of 2026 and 2028)