Students, staff contemplate the Oct. 13 course drop deadline
The Course/Schedule Change Request Form is available to all students on the Staples website under the “Students” menu in the student counseling section. Guidance counselor Deborah Slocum helps students make changes in schedules before the deadline of Oct. 13. Slocum is available for meetings with students through appointment.
Thursday, Oct. 13 is the deadline to drop a full year or first semester course without a record on a transcript. After the deadline, students who drop a course will have a permanent record of the change on Powerschool which will then be on their college applications.
While the deadline prevents students from being able to drop a course past October without penalty, students are able to switch levels of the same course at any point during the year.
The Staples community has different opinions about the deadline. Since students choose their courses during the previous school year, their interest in the class could change over time. When they arrive at the class in September, some realize it is not a good fit.
“It’s good to get adjusted to a class and then see what it really has in store,” Karoline Smokler ’25 said. “The deadline is late enough that it gives students an opportunity to make up their minds about the class.”
Some students think the date is too early and should be extended.
“I think having the option to drop a class is really great,” Elyana Blatt ’25 said. “But I think it should be later because it can be hard for people to know this soon if they don’t like a class.”
Staff that choose the deadline feel the date being this late in the quarter is beneficial.
“It allows kids a lot of time to really decide whether or not they feel overwhelmed by their course load,” guidance counselor Deborah Slocum said. “Some students do it this late because they wanted to keep trying and trying, and now they’ve just made a decision.”
