Students of Aliso Niguel High School experienced great changes to their 2022-2023 schedule on Sept. 1 when numerous classes in their schedule were switched due to overpopulation within the classrooms. The primary changes that occurred pertained towards the creation and placement of students into new classroom periods. 

The changes were swift and affected all grades in an attempt to ease the pressures teachers were experiencing with varying levels of impact for certain students. The changes taking place during the six week period of optional leveling down lessens the muddled nature students felt by the changes in classrooms.

The new schedules were a welcome change for numerous students who benefited from easier to manage class periods. When asked about his opinion towards the new class changes, Cade (11) responded “Ever since the schedule change my school day has become easier, because now I have a free sixth period instead of fourth.” Contrary to the previous experience, some students feel indifferent to the alterations as their schedules remain concrete. Xander (12) commented “All my classes remained the same, though maybe there was less change in AP classes.”

Students were left to constantly ponder what classes were most affected and if there were still possibilities for maneuverability within their class periods. Students can and should still make necessary changes to their own class schedules, as it is important to find a balance between challenging classes and overstressing. Leveled down classes were not primarily altered as assured by Mr. Nickels, who stated, “we tried to diversify among English, Math, Science, and Foreign Language, so a little of every content department got a section added to help lower class sizes.”

Mr. Nickels, Aliso Niguel’s Vice Principal, was able to provide knowledge to the inner workings of class schedule planning. Before the start of the school year, the school board will create a master schedule based on the number of teachers and anticipated enrollment. The school will usually spend the first couple of weeks filtering through students who no longer attend Aliso Niguel without notifying them. When asked about the peculiarity of this year’s changes, Mr. Nickels responded “Typically … I’ll get a call to say our enrollment was less than we anticipated and that I need to cut sections. This was the first time ever that I got a call that our enrollment was more than what was estimated and we were given additional sections … so we decided to put them in specific classes to help lower those class sizes.”

Students’ school schedules seem to be reaching their permanent state for the rest of the semester as the school year progresses past the first six weeks. Teachers and students are all ready to continue the new school year and hopefully will experience little changes to their schedule. Although AP classes were hardly affected, the standard classes experienced the most changes and are sure to be happy with the calmness. The number of students per class seems to have balanced out and decreased for the better allowing more teachers to focus on individual students and helping them better understand the curriculum.