For this school year, Edina High School reverted advisories to follow the structure from two years ago. Staff last year decided that implementing advisory into second period would increase attendance, forcing students to stay in class into advisory.
The previous change came from attendance concerns. Some students wouldn’t show up, would roam the hallways, or even leave campus. Teachers would monitor the hallways, encouraging students to attend advisory to any who were skipping.
Advisory was made with the intention of students being put with peers who shared the first letter of their last name together. It was supposed to serve as the one class throughout high school that would never change so students could develop connections with their classmates and advisor for four years.
“I preferred the [organized by last name] advisory because I had known those people throughout the whole year, and I loved my advisory teacher,” senior Ellie Walter said. As a senior, Walter has experienced all the advisory changes implemented over the past four years. “I liked it because freshman year, when you’re nervous about your schedule, having people you can connect with is super nice. It felt nice to have people in the same boat.”
The advisory curriculum is generated by a team of staff, including Assistant Principal William Britt, the head of the advisory team. Britt and others meet to discuss the revisions of advisory for the next school year.
Jessica Edeburn, part of the English department, serves as one of the advisory committee members.
“The advisory team hopes that students have a chance to learn skills that don’t necessarily fit into a specific course’s curriculum,” Edeburn said. “There were a lot of strengths from the advisory three years ago. There were fun games, good lessons, and purpose, but a lot of random content planners were forced to cover last minute.”
The frequent advisory switches this past year have had their positives and negatives.
The advisory committee will continue to revamp the course. “In the future, we are considering proposing to the school board that advisory should carry a .25 credit towards graduation,” Edeburn said. “Students do a lot of work; their work should be recognized on their transcript.”
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on Oct. 2, 2025
