As the new school year starts, so does the mounting pressure of scheduling issues and changes. The 2025 to 2026 school year was no different.
Irvington students, their parents, and Irvington staff all conflicted with scheduling changes. This was seen throughout the influx of people dropping out of AP US History to take regular US History. Notably, many people dropped out of this class due to its rigor, and were able to take a class that would better suit their interests.
Principal Hicks sent an email out about scheduling conflicts on August 21st after school. He has acknowledged that although people were upset about scheduling conflicts, he is not the only one responsible for scheduling, and plays but a small part in the process — the assistant principals are responsible for making schedule changes.
According to the Assistant Principal Ms. Howell, the emergency form was prioritized by the Assistant Principals to fix schedules where students were missing classes. She was one of the staff members responsible for carrying out schedule changes, along with the two other vice principals. For the first two weeks of school, they sent emails about carrying out scheduling requests. Every year, “people change their mind [about the classes they wanted],” Ms. Howell emphasizes, and further adds that she does not have the power to change the type of classes if it was not provided in the tentative schedule.
Many people dropped out of AP US History and AP Language and Composition, two rigorous APs that many students originally felt like they were prepared for, only to change their mind when the school year came. Although there was an option to drop out of AP classes through a second Google Form, Ms. Howell emphasizes, “You cannot change periods so that you can get the class you want…we make 100% effort to give everybody what they want.” The staff have worked to give schedules depending on availability and pre-organized tentative schedules depending on Google Form requests that students had submitted in the spring.
Scheduling was finalized on August 27th, after assistant principals, parents, and students worked closely together.
