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High school leaders outline scheduling limits, counselors and optional Flex periods to ease pressure on students
Summary
Harvard high school administrators told the School Committee that singleton required courses, staffing shifts and manual summer adjustments limit students' ability to get preferred electives; leaders said counseling and Flex periods are being used to reduce social pressure to "double up" classes.
High school Principal Kim Murphy and Assistant Principal Julie Horton told the Harvard School Committee on Feb. 9 that structural constraints in the master schedule — chiefly singleton required courses and staffing changes — often prevent students from enrolling in every preferred elective.
Horton, who said she has "been scheduling since 2016, so she feels very comfortable with this piece," described the scheduling flow from course selection through finalization and noted that individualized scheduling completed before summer frequently requires manual adjustments, which can disrupt optimized placements. The presentation showed how underenrolled alternatives (for example public speaking) sometimes appear when students can't get first-choice electives.
Committee members pressed leaders on fairness and student well-being. Mr. Killeen raised concerns about "the appropriateness of students doubling up on subject classes not because they want to, but because of social pressure." Principal Murphy replied, "most students are not doubling up, and they are increasing the amount of counseling students are receiving," and described expanded counseling supports and advising to help students balance academic goals and social expectations.
Murphy and Horton also described Flex periods intended to increase student belonging and provide enrichment or intervention time; they said more complete elective-participation data would help the district determine whether to add sections of popular electives but noted staffing limits as a constraint.
The committee thanked the high school leaders for the detailed presentation and asked administrators to return with additional participation data and any proposed staffing changes that could open more elective seats. The discussion concluded with the committee asking for continued attention to student counseling and schedule transparency before final summer adjustments are made.
