A new rule concerning advanced classes is being enforced and the students and faculty are quite torn on the issue.

For the first three weeks of school, a student can drop an AP/PAP course without any questions. After the three week mark, the student must face the AP Steering Committee composed of the student’s principal, assistant principal, counselor, teacher of the class in question, the student and student’s parents and a representative from the central office.

“They will try to work out something that the student can do to keep them in the class,” Principal Mike Williams said. “They’ll check back in three to nine weeks, and if the student is still struggling then or at semester, the student will be allowed to drop the class.”

Williams assumes this will apply to mostly underclassmen, since upperclassmen have a better grip on how advanced classes work and have more tools to make the correct decision for themselves.

However, teachers are worried about the new rule as well.

“I think it’s good and bad,” AP psychology teacher Kristin Richey said. “It’s good because students would get a schedule change early in the year so they don’t miss too much. It also makes them try harder once the deadline hits because now they can’t get out. The only negative is that some students truly try their best, and just can’t do well—and they’ll have to stay in it anyway.”

Junior Avery Johnson is taking four AP classes and one PAP class this year, and she disagrees with the new rule even though she is quite confident in her workload.

“I think it’s really unfair and a little pretentious,” Johnson said. “Mainly because three weeks is not enough time to really know if you’re cut out for a class without completely giving up. I know there are students who are too persistent to drop and too stubborn to know when they need to. It’s crazy to keep them in there and allow them to continue to struggle and fail.”

The previous rule was that students could drop the class up to six weeks into the year without any question, but this rule was changed because of the curricular differences between advanced and normal classes.

“I think students should choose their courses carefully and consider many things,” counselor Amy Adams said. “A student needs to consider if they are willing to put in the extra time that an AP class might bring. They also need to do some self-reflection about previous grades, work ethic, other commitments and interest level in the course.”

Switching from a regular class to an advanced class has different rules and must be done sooner, because advanced students receive extra grade percentage points for their participation in the class.

“It’s not fair to those who have been in the class the entire year and have earned the advantage,” Williams said.

Williams believes that students will be more accepting of the rule if they understand the reasoning behind it.

“We want the kids to develop some grit,” Williams said. “If you have an obstacle, you have to learn to get around it.”