With registration over and a failed referendum reducing school funding, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Prior Lake High School will be undergoing changes for the 2025-2026 school year.
On February 4-6th, all students registered for their next year of classes, just as they have done for years before. This registration process is done so early to build and prepare schedules for students and determine needed staffing levels.
However, the students themselves are the key to their own future and the future of the school. Students are encouraged to take classes that are in their best interest for the future they wish to lead.
“I’m the best at making my schedule because I know what I want to do with my life,” said Tomás Valdivia, a current 11th-grade student.
Planning for a strong academic future is important; students who think and plan out their future classes in high school tend to be better prepared for college and for life after high school.
“Realistically, I think that starting in about 10th grade, students should begin exploring—I wouldn’t call it planning—for future years,” said Mrs. Knutsen, an English teacher at Prior Lake High School. “At that point, you start to get a feel for what you like while more electives are offered to you as well.”
However, the availability of some classes was limited or completely unavailable due to the referendum that was not passed earlier this year. This referendum cut the budget for the school to use for classes they offer, which has affected the amount of available classes in the school.
Many changes were made to the list of classes available to the students at PLHS, including the elimination or renaming of multiple classes.
The student number threshold for classes to run has reportedly risen to help with fluctuations in budget and better estimates for staffing numbers. Some classes that were able to run with around 20 students beforehand may not be able to run in future years.
Many general required classes and AP classes won’t likely change due to cuts in budgets, because trends show high interest in these categories. Classes that tend to attract less student attention and electives are the most likely to be unavailable due to decreased funding.
The registration process happens yearly, and the administration schedules students into classes based on graduation requirements and student interests. In specific circumstances, Special Education case managers, GPA, or prerequisites may dictate a student’s schedule as well.
“We want to be able to give the student the choice. A student could go from a general-level English class to an AP-level English class. Sometimes that’s a good idea, and sometimes it’s not. But it’s your choice to challenge yourself if you want to,” said Mrs. Knutsen.
Throughout the registration process, Guidance Counselors offer several forms of help and can answer several questions about registration, which makes them a very useful resource for students who are uncertain about the classes they wish to take.
“The counselors are probably the best for helping” with registration. “Right behind me, myself and I,” said Valdivia.
Due to high school requirements, making sure students take the required amount of each credit is a high priority for counselors and teachers alike, which can sometimes lead to unexpected class changes that are not on a student’s registration sheet at all. Checking credits is an essential part of a student’s process when registering for a new school year
Some departments, to prepare for registration, have made advertisements for their classes to increase student interest. The art department created several posters to promote their department, showing the teachers in various famous art pieces or dressed as superheroes.
