Senior options is a class shrouded in mystery. Many juniors, upon receiving their senior schedules, are unsure why senior options shows up as part of their course load when they never explicitly signed up for the class. Most students simply do not know what purpose the class serves.

“I’m not sure what senior options is, or what is taught in it, but I think it has something to do with the senior experience” said junior Roy Kim.

Senior options is offered by the Social Studies department as a course for second-semester seniors. Currently, there are three sections for senior options.  Students are automatically enrolled in the class if their senior schedule lacks a course pertaining to government.  This action is taken because New York State designates a government credit as a graduation requirement.  Alternative courses that will be offered to seniors next year that fulfill this requirement include Participation in Government and Economics, Participation in Government, AP United States Government and Politics, and AP Comparative Government and Politics.

“The senior options course is designed to meet the New York State required 12th grade Participation in Government (PIG) class. It, along with Economics, is required for graduation. Since some Seniors are only taking AP Micro/Macro Economics they still need to take a course in PIG,” said Social Studies Department Chair Mr. Schultz.

In addition to meeting this requirement, senior options is also a constructive use of any student’s time, as they develop skills and perform tasks that will prove incredibly useful after they graduate. One such task is informed voter registration, an opportunity that many of the students lacking a government class would never have been provided.

“Registering to vote prepares us to perform our civic duty, and it is incredible that the school simplifies such a daunting task by allowing us to explore our own political ideology and then position ourselves to act on it,” said senior Jordy Greenblatt.

There is also aspect of the class devoted to the senior experience project.  Like the PIG credit, senior experience is a requirement for graduation, but completing one’s senior experience in a classroom setting is an opportunity unlike any other. Senior experience is the capstone of every student’s time at Schreiber, and it facilitates the exploration of students’ interests in a supportive environment.  Every senior is assigned a teacher supervisor, whose role is to guide students through the process of selecting an experience and finding a mentor.

For students taking senior options, this role is filled by their senior options teacher.  Because the class is in part dedicated to the senior experience, these teachers are able to allocate class time to help students.  Their frequent and insightful assistance provides students with the ability to create a meaningful and impactful project.

Senior options is among the most versatile courses offered at Schreiber.  As its name implies, it affords students greater flexibility in designing their senior year schedule.  Furthermore, by teaching information that is essential and applicable to real-life situations, it hold the attention of second-semester seniors, a demographic with notoriously short attention spans.  Finally, it catalyzes the senior experience, enabling students to deepen their understanding of their own interests and gain valuable experiences prior to graduation. Because senior options is such a versatile course and serves so many purposes, it’s no wonder that people are unsure of exactly what it does.