School Shifts to Infinite Campus for Course Selection, Elective Registration

Brooke McDermott, Managing Editor

As preparations for the next school year begin, the school has brought in new courses, as well as new additions to the course verification process.

This year the school asked students to register for their electives on the platform, Infinite Campus.

On this platform, students signed up for their non-core classes, as well as filled any spaces they had in their schedule for next year.

However, students could not change their core classes, as the initial schedule students received held teacher’s recommendations.

And along with new ways to register for courses, this coming school year, 2020-2021, the school will offer a plethora of new courses: American Sign Language, 12th Honors English, the AP Capstone program and History in Film.

Also, AP Art History will now be available for sophomores to choose if they have an opening in their schedule.

The courses are all available to give students more options for their course choices.

American Sign Language has never been taught in an in-class environment at Cambridge, as it usually is taught online.

12th Honors English is now an option for rising seniors who may not desire to take an AP, on-level or dual enrollment course.

The AP Capstone Program is a course for sophomores and juniors who want to demonstrate proficient research and presentation skills.

This course will not require a traditional AP exam. Instead, it will require an end-of-year presentation, a research paper on their chosen topic and a research project.

This course is recommended for students who are deciding to drop an elective or have met their requirements for a certain pathway and want to continue challenging themselves with new courses.

History in Film was created to help students finish their elective requirements if needed.

Counselor Olivia Beck also advised students to be sure of their schedule on their final verification form, as it would be referenced when they schedule classes for the following year.

“And you make sure that that last one looks exactly how you want your schedule to be like next year because that is what we will be referencing when we make schedules for next year,” said Beck.

The third round of verification forms will be in April, when students must make their final choices for their future course schedule.

And with similar deadlines, dual enrollment course deadlines are coming up as well.

By March 31st, every student who is planning on enrolling in a dual enrollment course must finish their student-participation agreement, their Fulton County contract and should have applied for enrollment to the school they plan on attending.

In order to aid students in their registration process, the counseling department will be having a “Register for Young Harris Day”, on March 9th, where they will help students with the required paperwork for registration.

All acceptances from the dual enrollment schools must be turned in by May 22nd.

9th-grade Assistant Principal and Curriculum Advisor, Shavanda Toomer, enjoyed the use of Infinite Campus for elective registration and thinks it was successful.

“There are still some features that are being refined by the district,” said Toomer, “but overall it was going well.”

Similarly, Principal Kimberly Premoli believes the system provides efficiency in the registration process.

Premoli added that Infinite Campus makes it easier for those who are making the schedules to confirm the courses.

“I think [Infinite Campus] worked really well,” said Premoli. “The process itself is really the same, but now we can automate some of it.”