by Leslie Marjizak ‘27

As part of preparing students for life after high school, the college and career readiness program offers a variety of options that allow students to explore alternatives to having a full seven classes at Sherwood. Options range from taking classes at Montgomery College (MC) to getting an internship to gain experience in a possible career pathway. This program will be adjusted next year due to changes to Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future, requiring Sherwood to tighten its definition of what qualifies for an abbreviated schedule. This will ensure that students involved in the college and career readiness program are doing it for the right reasons, while allowing a more diverse group of students to participate.

In the past, and including this school year, the criteria for obtaining an abbreviated schedule were more relaxed. Students in the child development program may have the opportunity to participate in a teaching internship as part of this pathway. On the other hand, a student could leave school early to work at the local Chick-fil-A. Another option for students is to take a half-day of classes at Sherwood and then take up to two classes each semester at MC. This year, there were 96 students in dual enrollment, 45 in internship, and 50-60 working in the loose job category, totaling close to 200 students with abbreviated schedules.

In the coming years, students will not be allowed to just “get a job” and have an abbreviated schedule. Any work experience must fit under the internship category and relate to a possible career pathway that could be pursued after graduation. “We have several different pathways that have internships as part of that pathway. However, we have this bucket of students who are not in a pathway, but want to gain an internship experience,” said Maisie Lynch, the school’s internship coordinator. “Coming down the pipe, students will be expected to match their internship with their desired career pathway.”

Students will still have the option to get an abbreviated schedule by taking classes at MC. MCPS covers nearly 700 MC courses, ranging from core classes to electives. “Students can take up to two MC classes per semester, and you must take at least four classes in total,” said Alissa Margolis, who was the MC coordinator at Sherwood until she changed positions mid-January. Taking classes through MC can benefit college-bound students by allowing them to get a head start, as all Maryland state schools will accept all MC credits. Furthermore, it enables students to earn college credits in high school and experience college courses and professors before graduating high school.

Many of the current internship opportunities supervised by Lynch will still meet the qualifications for an abbreviated schedule. Students will still be required to take a minimum of four classes at Sherwood before leaving for an internship. They can leave school for anywhere from one to three periods, but their work hours must be equal to the amount of time they are not at school during the week. “The bonuses are that you get actual hands-on work experience, build a network of people, and learn soft skills that will help you with your future career, all while doing it in a supportive environment,” said Lynch.

Another positive of having an internship is that a weighted grade is assigned for each period a student is off, making an internship a potential GPA booster. The internship program fosters a positive climate of career readiness at Sherwood and shows value in student experiences. However, students with a half-day schedule may miss out on other opportunities.

“There are lots of great electives here at Sherwood, and students could take a variety of interesting electives that they did not previously have room in their schedules to take [with a full schedule],” said Kelly Singleton, the current head of the counseling department.

The process itself for students to obtain an abbreviated schedule has had a detrimental impact on elective offerings at Sherwood. When students who are interested in an abbreviated schedule sign up for classes, they still must sign up for a full seven classes. This is to ensure that students have a backup plan as they confirm their internship or MC classes with their counselors and Lynch. Once they have confirmation, students will drop the classes they did not actually plan to take. However, this can negatively impact class sizes and affect elective teachers because there is no true indication of interest in certain classes.

“If we cannot run enough classes, then teachers get cut and end up having to move to another school,” said Principal Tim Britton. Additionally, class sizes turn out unevenly distributed, as some electives that had previously shown lots of interest in reality only end up having a few students once those with abbreviated schedules drop them.