Students preparing for next school year will be creating a Personal Plan of Study which allows them to choose their courses for their entire high school career. If a student has less than four years left, they will plan out their remaining years.

Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Support Services Shelley Willott said that the new system, which allows students to choose their courses for every year of high school at once, is part of Rockwood’s larger plan for student success. 

“We’re really trying to focus on post-secondary readiness and preparation for whatever it is that students want to choose after high school,” Willott said.

Students will be able to complete their course selection through the “Academic Plan” tab in Infinite Campus.

“The academic planner lets kids plan out their four years in high school, and they put [their classes] all into Infinite Campus,” Willott said. 

Since the focus of this system is to aid students in forming cohesive plans after high school, 8th Graders from now on will take a survey to determine what courses would match their interests.

The main reason why this four year plan is being implemented, according to LHS counselor Annie Tichacek, is because of a Missouri law for students going into high school. 

“There is a state law, which requires all students in Missouri, at the start of their ninth-grade year, [to] have a four-year academic plan. So, that’s why it’s starting in 8th Grade,” Tichacek said. 

While the focus is on 8th Grade students, counselors will still have current freshmen, sophomores and juniors choose their courses for the following years of high school. 

“There’s a lot of work upfront because we’ve got to get all high school students to have [a four year plan]. In the years moving forward, it’ll be ‘Hey, you created this in 8th Grade,’ and [we will] just revisit it every year,” Tichacek said. 

To prepare students for this new change, Lafayette counselors have begun making rounds to freshmen, prioritizing them, before moving to sophomores and juniors. 

“Because freshmen have to plan for four years, we wanted to get them first. By the time we get to juniors, they only have to plan for the following year,” Tichacek said. 

If students have any questions, they can visit counselors by either making an appointment or meeting them during AcLab. 

This new way of choosing courses is not only new to students but also to counselors. Tichacek said this following year will be a new change for every member of Rockwood.