On February 10th, 2026 the Central Catholic administration held an optional meeting on schedule changes. These changes would be that Honors classes and McDowell classes would be taken.
Faculty were informed of the meeting and the administration officially announced the plans to students during homeroom/flex between sophomores and juniors on February 17th, 2026 .
It also showed new classes being added to the school including: Linear Algebra or Multivariable Algebra, International Relations, AP Business with Personal Finance, and more while also covering the pathways for core subjects.
This shows how Central Catholic is constantly changing and accommodates students to improve and further their education while giving more students a chance to do Advanced Placement classes and grow the enrollment of Advanced Placement all at the same time.
By taking away McDowell and Honors classes for juniors and seniors it was characterized as “a step forward” ultimately finding more of a balance between the expectations of McDowell courses and Level 3 classes, to make a new section of classes known as “College Prep.”
It also helps narrow down the complexity that the old grading scale had in store for administration to deal with at the end of every quarter and it lets it get done more efficiently and faster.
Collin Petyak, Class of 2028, says it is good and bad at the same time. On one end it helps him take more rigorous courses but knows it will effect fellow classmates around him who would want Honors classes but not quite AP.
This begs a good question on if students at Central Catholic who want to have rigor but don’t think they would be cut out enough for AP classes would think. Is it the same instance for students in McDowell?
Michael Kaczmarek, a Class of 2028 student enrolled in four classes this year, said how he had planned to move up to AP level courses and was only effected in the event of his history class. He also gave detail on how this wouldn’t affect him but could affect the whole student environment he is apart of.
Amir Webb, a Class of 2028 student enrolled in McDowell classes, said that this transition is one of the best things for Central Catholic to do. It opens more learning opportunities and introduces him to more rigor in classrooms preparing him for a true college workload.
It turns out that from two different perspectives it is around the same outcome. Central Catholic students are ready for a future with a new schedule and hope it has a positive outcome for all of Central Catholic.
