The course request process should begin with students and parents carefully reviewing the Course Catalog while considering questions such as:
Do I have any graduation requirements to fulfill?
Have I met the prerequisites for this course?
How balanced is my course load for my learning needs and extracurricular activities?
The Course Catalog includes titles and descriptions of course offerings for the upcoming school year, department overviews, and resources such as LWHS Graduation Requirements, UC Entrance Requirements, and a four-year course planning sheet.
Students will be granted most of their requests, but are not guaranteed to get all of their first choices. In order to maximize placement in first choice classes, it is critical that students follow all directions on the course request form, including ranking the required number of choices, and submitting by 11:50pm on the due date.
Returning students register for classes once during the year. In late March, students attend grade-level info sessions to learn about changes to the academic program and to receive advice on course selection and how to fill out the course request form, which is available online on the day of the info session. Students complete the forms, have a parent sign off electronically, and submit them by the indicated deadline, usually right after Spring Break.
Incoming 9th grade students register for courses by returning their course request forms as indicated by the Admissions office.
Note on Scheduling Philosophy: At LWHS, the mission governs our scheduling process in important ways. In order to provide students with a truly balanced and meaningful Head, Heart, Hands education, we feature a required program that adds increased student choice with each grade level. In their four years at LWHS, students will receive most of their course requests, but most likely not all of them. Our mission-driven principles of wellness, equity, and belonging, also impact the scheduling process. First, we strive for numerical balance between sections of a specific class to maximize student access to teachers. We strive for demographic balance, both to maximize the learning benefits of a diverse student body and to create safety and belonging within sections. When we receive too many requests for a given class we use a priority system, described later in this guidebook, to ensure equitable access to classes; once priorities are exhausted, we use a lottery to assign available seats. We do not accept requests for specific teachers or for specific blocks, unless the grade level dean advocates for a student with specific wellness-related concerns. While we offer a rigorous academic program, we cannot accommodate students who have learned a topic beyond our course offerings, and instead invite them to explore other areas of study. Students have the opportunity to modify their schedules during the Add/Drop periods in late July up to the first day of school, and again in late November.