Why CPS Schools Sometimes Switch Students to IB DP Classes Against Their Request (And What You Can Do)
Last May, my 11th grader Javi leaned back from the kitchen table, half-eaten Cheerios going soggy in his bowl, and spun his Chromebook around to face me. His golden retriever was busy gnawing the laces off my running shoe by the leg, so I almost didn’t look up from folding laundry until he said, “I didn’t ask for any of this.” He was right. Three months earlier, we’d sat through two hours of course request night at our North Side CPS high school, checked every box, confirmed with his guidance counselor that he’d get the classes he wanted: partial IB credit for his humanities classes, AP Computer Science Principles, and a 2-period studio art elective he needed for his game design college portfolio. What popped up on the schedule the day before Memorial Day? Full IB Diploma Programme. Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay prep, IB History, and zero slots left for comp sci or art.
I thought it was a mistake at first. I shot off a quick email to his counselor that night, figured it would get sorted in a day or two. Three days later, I got a one-paragraph reply back: Javi’s grades qualified him for DP, the program had several under-enrolled sections that needed filling, so the administration automatically bumped eligible students into open slots. I was shocked, then started texting the parent group chat for our school. By the end of the afternoon, I had four other parents reply with the exact same story. One kid had requested AP science classes to prep for nursing school and got switched into full DP. Another wanted to do IB Music only, not the full diploma, and ended up with all DP core requirements.
I talked to a friend who’s a guidance counselor at another CPS high school, and she explained why this happens more than people talk about. CPS schools set their staffing and teaching positions months before classes start, based on projected section sizes. If a DP section only has 15 students signed up, the district can cut the section entirely, which means the school loses a teaching position and a chunk of funding that comes with it. Administrators look for students who already qualify for DP—meaning they have a B average or higher, which a lot of college-bound kids do—and automatically slot them into open spots. It’s not that they’re intentionally ignoring student requests, she said. It’s a numbers game, and kids with strong grades are the easiest people to move.
I’ve seen a lot of parents just keep emailing and waiting, which is what almost happened to us. The mom whose kid wanted nursing pre-reqs waited two weeks to go in person, and by then the AP bio section she wanted was full, so her kid had to stay in DP for the year. We got lucky because I had a flexible work day that week, so Javi and I showed up to the first day of scheduled drop-in schedule changes at 8 a.m., right when the counseling office opened. We brought three things: a screenshot of Javi’s original submitted course request (I made him save it when he submitted it, a habit I picked up after a scheduling mix-up in middle school), a printed copy of that screenshot, and a three-sentence note Javi wrote himself that said why he needed his original classes. It said, “I’m applying to game design programs next fall. I need AP Comp Sci for credit and studio time for my application portfolio. I don’t want the full IB diploma.”
The first thing the administrator we talked to said was, “But full DP looks much better on college applications.” Javi just repeated what he wrote, plain and simple. He didn’t argue, he just stated his case. I didn’t jump in to talk for him, which my guidance counselor friend told me later makes a big difference—administrators are more likely to prioritize a student’s own stated goals than a parent’s demands. We filled out the two-page schedule change form on the spot, and by the end of that day, the change was approved. We got the classes he requested.
Over the past year, I’ve talked to almost a dozen CPS parents who’ve dealt with this same issue. Most of the time, it works out if you act early and come prepared. I tell them the same small, concrete steps that worked for us: save proof of your original request the second you hit submit, don’t just rely on the school to keep accurate records. Go to the drop-in changes first thing in the morning, before popular sections fill up with other kids requesting changes. Have your kid write their own short statement of why they need the classes they requested, don’t do all the talking for them. If the counseling office won’t help, reach out to your school’s Local School Council representative—LSCs have more pull to escalate scheduling issues than most parents realize, especially in CPS.
It’s been almost a year now, and Javi’s wrapping up his junior year in the classes he picked. He’s got half his game design portfolio done, and he just got his AP Comp Sci midterm grade back that he’s happy with. At a Local School Council meeting back in February, we brought up the automatic switching issue, and the administration agreed to add a mandatory check box to next year’s course request form that says “I do not give permission to switch me into full IB DP classes if I did not request them.” It’s a tiny change, and it won’t stop every mix-up, but it’s something.
I still get at least one message a month from another CPS parent asking how we fixed our schedule, and I send over the steps we used. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s the one we’ve got, and a little preparation goes a long way. There’s still no guarantee it’ll work out every time—some years sections fill faster, some administrators are more rigid than others—but acting early and showing up in person makes all the difference most of the time. It’s just one more of those small, messy hoops you learn to jump through when you’re raising a kid in public school.
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