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By Amanda Tong
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Oct. 22, 2003 |
An administrator allowed several students to enter the English honors program after they had missed the deadline for official enrollment.
School policy requires students to see the department head personally before self-scheduling and present their grades in order to reserve a space in the course. English department head Dennis Kelly then puts students on an official class list, which allows them to sign up for the course in the Lowell Electronic Arena.
Assistant principal Gloria Bogdanoff allowed a few students who met the grade requirements of two Bs and an A to enroll in English 71H without previously meeting with Kelly.
Bogdanoff said that in previous years, administrators have allowed students to enter the class after they had missed the deadline.
"If a kid qualifies by grade, and there's space in the class, we should not put barriers in their way," Bogdanoff said. "After self-scheduling, if there's space they can be placed in."
However, former English department head Jan Hernandez stated in an email to Kelly that Bogdanoff's action was unprecedented.
Hernandez also stated that students who are interested in taking an honors or Advanced Placement course should expect to have to claim a seat.
"In the Lowell system, students must demonstrate that interest (and, not coincidentally, a degree of responsibility generally required to succeed in such courses) by 'going through the process,'" Hernandez said.
Sophomore Aurora Chan, who is currently enrolled in 71H, stated that although it the late enrollment was unfair, it is not incentive to remove the students from the class. "We actually went through effort to sign up for the class," Chan said.
Sophomore Blair Bazdarich criticized Bogdanoff's action.
"This is just another example of hypocrisy, since this school is all about deadlines," Bazdarich said.
Principal Paul Cheng declined to comment on the issue. |
