Northport High School has recently made a decision that will have many mixed opinions. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, all freshmen will be required to take an elective called “Freshman Academy”. There are many positive things that will come out of this class, but like many things there are also some negative things about it.
What is it exactly and how does it work?
Freshman Academy is an elective that all freshmen will be required to take in the 2026-27 school year. It is a course elective that teaches freshmen skills that they will use later in life after graduating. Each quarter of the school year is broken up into different units that are taught in this course. Quarter A (Quarter 1) teaches students financial skills like budgeting and managing your money and it also dives into business as well. Quarter B (Quarter 2) teaches students about leadership, communication, and their community. It also focuses on critical thinking and collaborating with others. Quarter C (Quarter 3) focuses on digital technology, coding, and AI. Students will also learn about digital citizenship and AI exploration. Quarter D (Quarter 4) focuses on teaching students how to research for themselves on topics that interest them and how to communicate effectively, which will help them throughout high school. Each unit is 10 weeks long and there is one unit per quarter.
The Positives
This course has many positives to it, as it prepares students with the skills they will need in the real world after they graduate high school. Many of these skills that are taught in this class are important for college and after graduating college. I’d say the most important unit taught in this class is Quarter A: Financial Literacy & You (Quarter 1) because it teaches students how to create good budgeting habits and it teaches them how to save money so that they have enough in the future. Financial Literacy & You is probably one of the most important units taught, but the other units teach you valuable things too. Each unit has its own way to benefit students.
The Negatives
The negative effects of this course comes from the fact that it is a required elective for all freshmen starting next school year, meaning all freshmen are forced to take it and they can’t opt out of it. This is bad because freshmen usually take 2 electives (for example an art elective such as Studio in Media and a business elective such as Sports Marketing). Since Freshmen Academy is a required elective, incoming freshmen during the 2026-2027 school year will only be able to choose one elective of their choice. This could cause problems for them later down the road because some electives are graduation requirements (like health). This can cause students to want to take more electives sophomore year because they didn’t have enough room in their schedule during their freshman year. On top of that, they will also have to focus and study for their main core classes.
An Assistant Principal’s Opinion
Dr. Hinson is an AP (Assistant Principal) who works with freshmen and juniors at Northport High School. He is a big supporter of Freshman Academy and he believes that it will benefit freshmen with important skills for future use in and out of high school. In an interview, Dr. Hinson stated “I think Freshman Academy is a great opportunity for freshmen to experience learning on a wide variety of important subjects that will help them in the future. As the world evolves and changes, we hope that this course will equip our students with skills needed to be successful. Although this new course might cause concern because students have reduced elective options, I think Freshman Academy will offer more than what students will potentially lose.”
Conclusion
Overall, Freshman Academy has both positive and negative perspectives. On the positive side, it teaches students skills that will help them throughout and after graduating school, which will prepare them for their lives once they finish school. The negatives about Freshman Academy is that it interferes with freshmen’s schedules and it limits the amount of electives they can take due to Freshman Academy being a mandatory elective, which means you can’t get yourself out of taking it. Freshman Academy has many mixed opinions and some people aren’t too sure how to feel about it being a mandatory elective for incoming freshmen, but we will just have to wait and see what happens during the beginning of the next school year.
