With the school year coming to a close, now is the time for students to register for classes. Although this can be exciting for students to choose what the next year will hold for them, counselors often get the short end of the stick during this season.
“Classroom meetings for registration start in early February and end in late March, but I like to say that registration never ends. Registration has many moving parts which makes it a challenging process. As a counselor, you must be aware of the various ever-changing opportunities and resources available to students and know the processes involved to connect students to these opportunities,” counselor Sean Sandag said.
Along with their regular duties, enrolling students for the following year’s classes adds yet another item onto their already-full plate of responsibilities.
“The part I don’t like about registration is the fact that all our other responsibilities do not stop. You may have 30 meetings in a day, which does not leave time for much else,” Sandag said.
This is a shared sentiment among other counselors, since there is a lot of work considering how many kids are at West.
“It is difficult to manage the task of registering nearly 1,700 returning students, hosting incoming students from private, charter, home schools, our feeder middle schools and continuing to perform the duties that don’t stop because we are registering students for the upcoming school year,” counselor Angela Hubbard said.
In addition to the challenges that come with their busy schedules, counselors find that registration also takes away from certain students and their needs.
“I dislike the time it takes away from our seniors. Unfortunately, it falls around the same time seniors are receiving their admissions decisions, financial aid packaging, etc.,” Hubbard said.
However, not everything about registration is negative, there are many things that counselors do like about signing students up for the following year. This includes getting the chance to meet up with students, which is a highlight of their day among all the work involved in this process.
“I like the fact that we meet with every student. Most of the counselors have a caseload of over 400 students, so this time of year may be the only one-on-one interaction we get with particular students. It helps build relationships to have these meetings, especially for the ninth graders who we may have not had the chance to meet yet,” Sandag said.
“ I actually love registration season. I enjoy getting to meet with every single one of my students and discussing academic plans and goals. In some ways, it’s like a puzzle to put together, which is a fun challenge,” counselor Miranda DiCato said.
If you still want to help the counselors out during your one-on-one session with them, preparation is crucial. Researching and asking teachers about the classes you’re interested in before the meeting starts will ensure a quick and easy transition through this process.
“Students being prepared to meet with ideas of classes they would like to take is definitely helpful. When it comes to the core graduation requirements, those are pretty straightforward, but the electives are totally up to students’ choice and preference. We as counselors do not place or just put students in classes when they have the option to choose. We also really appreciate the teacher recommendations,” DiCato said.
“Being prepared is key. If you do not know what classes you want, do some research on the course offerings and get your selections submitted. It makes the meetings more valuable to have a starting point where we can adjust courses and make recommendations based on conversations rather than starting from scratch,” Sandag said.
When registration starts back up again, make sure to thank all the counselors for their hard work and dedication towards making sure you have all the classes you want.
