With course registration coming up, and distance learning still being the new normal, there are many questions about how the process will work and whether or not it will be effective. According to the Director of School Counseling David Edwards the process will be as close to previous years as the circumstances allow. 

Last week, advisory lessons for freshman, sophomores, and juniors were focused on course registration. “On the 16th, we’ll look at a quick overview of the whole process: what students should use to choose courses, important dates, goals of course registration, what a typical schedule might look like. On the 17th, students will look at the Dominion Curriculum page. This website was designed to help students learn more about the classes offered at Dominion,” Edwards said. “On the 18th, Students will log into StudentVue and choose their elective for the upcoming year.” Due to the snow day students did that Wednesday, February 24. https://sites.google.com/lcps.org/dominioncurriculum/home?authuser=0 

Students will also be meeting with their counselors individually in the coming weeks to discuss their course recommendations from teachers and to pick their classes for next year. “These meetings will happen almost entirely virtually. Juniors will be sent an appointment via email for a date, time, and Google Meet to chat with their counselor. Sophomores and freshmen will meet with a counselor during their Health and PE courses,” Edwards said. This process will start February 23 with the juniors and will continue through the end of March. Students will be able to see what electives and classes are available through the school’s newly created website or the list of classes attached here.  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a9VVADRLerzbe8pubm5bQ015tpr_Pw5sS9dWkTirsNc/edit?usp=sharing

Though the course registration process sounds good on paper, with distance learning there are obviously going to be some challenges. The two biggest being student absences and weather. Edwards says that if students miss their appointments they will have the opportunity to reschedule and will be reached out to by their counselor, but their meetings might be pushed back to after Spring Break. Therefore, students are encouraged to use Mondays to meet with their counselors. 

Although, it seems like weather cancellations are the bigger issue, with Edwards adding that this makes meeting with every student “impossible”. However, Edwards is optimistic, saying, “We believe we will be able to meet with all students who want to choose their classes for the upcoming school year. Counselors intend to dedicate the last half of February and all of March to reach students.” It is also important to note that delayed meetings will not affect the classes a student can sign up for. 

As far as new classes go the school will be offering three new courses which are African-American History, Project Lead the Way – Intro to Engineering Design H, and Marketing Dual Enrollment. All level III journalism classes will now be honors designated starting next year. They also hope to provide PEER and SCA next year but that will depend on student interest.