Departure of Assistant Principal Aviva Snyder
When AP Snyder left Central High School in June 2025 to become principal of Cook-Wissahickon School, many students across Central were heartbroken. Her departure marked the end of an administration that understood the needs of students across all four grades.
Under her administration, students had greater flexibility in scheduling and course placement. If a class wasn’t working out or students were struggling, flexibility was allowed beyond the two-week drop/add period.
The difference became immediately apparent during the 2026-2027 academic year. The new three-person roster chair committee has adopted stricter course scheduling practices that have left students with fewer options to handle their academic needs.
Can You Help Us?
Multiple students have requested to move out of high-level courses, such as switching from AP Calculus BC to AP Calculus AB, after realizing their current course is too challenging for them.
Previously, students could request these adjustments after the add/drop period, particularly when they were struggling academically or when another course level would be more appropriate. Under the new administration, however, these requests by students after the add/drop period are frequently denied, leaving students without the opportunity to switch.
Instead of allowing these students to move into more appropriate course levels, the administration has now directed them towards NHS tutoring. While tutoring is important, it does not always address these situations properly. Sometimes, struggling students can benefit more by moving to a class that matches their academic level than receiving additional help in a class that isn’t the right fit.
What's up with Junior Year Gym?
Under Snyder, students enrolled in AP Physics 2 during their junior year were able to get their gym requirement deferred to senior year without compromising their graduation requirement.
However, under the current administration, students requesting the same accommodations have been denied. This accommodation was particularly important because Central students can take only six courses during their junior year, four of which must be dedicated to graduation requirements. With gym occupying another course slot, students are left with only one slot for an additional academic course.
As a result, juniors taking AP Physics 2 during the 2026-2027 academic year have to sacrifice their language course, despite many colleges requiring or recommending more than 2 years of language study. Disallowing this deferral only further harms students and does not allow them flexibility to pursue a more rigorous schedule.
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How Are We Supposed to Do Our Summer Work?
The administration’s approach to scheduling has also been accompanied by a lack of communication. Under Snyder, students received their finalized courses before summer began. In fact, before AP Snyder left, students already knew what courses they would be taking during the 2025-2026 school year. This allowed students to request course changes ahead of time and make any necessary schedule adjustments during the two-week add/drop period in August. More importantly, students knew exactly which courses they would be taking and could begin completing their assigned summer homework well in advance.
This process was noticeably different for the 2026-2027 academic year. On June 11, students received emails stating that they had been "conditionally accepted" into certain courses.
Course information was sent out as a “tentative” placement, meaning you qualified for the course, but you didn’t know if you were actually in it.
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