This year, the counselors have been very busy with schedule changes. According to Timberland counselor Tammy Braun, there were approximately 400 schedule changes this year. Timberland students have the option to change their schedules at the beginning of the school year, and at the beginning of the second semester. 

Timberland senior Clarissa Bruegenhemke says: “I personally decided to change my schedule in order to fit the classes that I think would prepare me for college the most based on the career that I’m going into.” According to Yale University, many colleges look for students with a balanced schedule. The allowance of schedule changes can help students achieve this balanced schedule by allowing students to change their classes to accommodate what colleges are looking for. Bruegenhemke also says: “The schedule changes, I believe, have affected Timberland in a very positive way because it’s a good thing to have the opportunity to be able to change your mind about what you want to do for an entire year…”

Although schedule changes are beneficial to students, it can be difficult for teachers to have students constantly switching in and out of their classes for the first week. English teacher Erica Wagner says: “Schedule changes affect teachers a lot because there’s always new kids moving into classes, changing hours, kids that were on your roster that disappear from your roster, so it’s kind of hard to adjust right at first, but overall it’s not a bad thing.” 

Timberland counselors are responsible for the schedule changes that happen in the school. Timberland counselor Tammy Braun says: “I think overall our goal is to make sure that everybody’s in the right level of a class, everybody has a place to belong, and we try to make sure that everybody’s comfortable and are trying to some skills and help them figure out what they want to do after high school and experiencing different types of classes.” This year the Timberland counselors put the schedule change form online to make it easier to get through the forms quickly. There is more information about schedule changes on the Timberland website.