The summer before the 24-25 school year, I sat with my friends in front of a picnic table at Interlochen camp for Skyline High School Orchestra. A few people I hadn’t met before came over, and we started talking about how we all split-enroll from CHS to Skyline High School (SHS) to participate in the orchestra program. They told me about how it was going to be a struggle and that it may be hard to make and maintain friendships because you’re always running between schools.
Curiosity instantly sparked in my mind. Up until that point, I thought split-enrolling would be easy. But, as I paced through my first semester of freshman year, I learned what split-enrolling is actually like. If you’re like me, torn between a program at one of the bigger “traditional” schools and your new life at CHS, you should read these 5 need-to-knows/tips.
Think more about times and less about blocks
I go to SHS for their fifth period. This means I have to be there at 1:40 p.m., when class starts, so I have to plan when I’m going to take the bus before that and which of my classes the bus ride will interrupt. In my case, I have an online class every day right after lunch, which allows me to leave for orchestra whenever I want. From 12:15 p.m. to 1:20 p.m., I work on my online class content and then walk to the AAATA bus stop to make it to my class at Skyline on time.
If I were to think about my entire schedule in block schedule format, it would be really confusing. Thinking about a CHS Friday schedule, my online class would be half of 5th block and Orchestra at SHS would be the rest of 5th block and all of 6th block. This is because Community’s times don’t line up with other schools for the most part, so it is vital to know which class you’re supposed to be in and what time exactly.
You may have to take an online class, Community Resource (CR), or a class at another school
In order to fit in all of the required classes you need in order to graduate, it may be necessary to take an online class. To some, this might seem like the end of the world. But this year I had to take Spanish 1 online, which ended up being nice. All of the content is given to you, and you can plan when you want to complete it, allowing you to go at your own pace. This also allows you to leave your online class an hour early without missing any content. Additionally, depending on the online class you take, you can use notes on all of your tests.
Let’s say you have an AP class at Skyline, and the class is during Skyline’s second period. This means you will probably take both first period and second period at SHS, even though the purpose of your split enrollment is only for SHS’s second period. Then, you would have Community classes for the rest of the day.
Always have a ride
This year, I haven’t been able to find anyone who split-enrolls to SHS at the same time as me, so my only option is to take the AAATA city bus. If I miss the bus, I always make sure I have a backup that can get me to SHS.
Stay organized
Splitting becomes much easier if you’re organized. If you know where you need to be at every point in the day, everything will be so much easier. Try writing your schedule down on a planner or Google Calendar for the first week or so.
Ask for help!
If you are confused about your schedule on the first day, you should talk to another split-enroll peer or one of our incredible guidance counselors. They know their way around splitting and can help you know where you’re supposed to be and when. Just know that there is always a solution.
To conclude…
Hopefully, you have learned a lot more about split-enrolling from this article and are more confident about where you’re going. Split-enrolling can be hard sometimes, but it really depends on your schedule and which period your class is at the other school. Remember, these are only a few tips. There’s still lots more to learn about!
