Xello is the new headache for students as it took the place of career cruising. Wisconsin entails that all schools should be provided with this program, however it’s not compulsory by state. Most districts require it to showcase college and career readiness. 

Black River Falls HS switched to this program for its first year. Some students fret about their allotted time to get things done and others have cruised on though the requirements. Many students are afraid of being denied graduation. 

 “Well, from my understanding, it sounds like we have to get everything done in Xello in order to graduate, although they have tried to push it in the past, no one has finished it and they haven’t been denied graduation or walking on stage from not completing these tasks,” said senior Abby Nelson, “but it sounds like they’re actually pushing it this year.”

In all of the confusion, there is information that is not being understood in this situation from the school.

“So that particular piece [the resume] is definitely something that we require of all students before graduating,” said guidance counselor, Libby Secard. “The Xello requirements are required, it is a class that students earn a grade in and they earn a credit for. But it’s kind of one of those things where if you choose not to do it, it’s going to show up on your transcript as an F, which would then be something you have to explain to an employer or a school. “

Since the requirement turns up as a grade in student’s transcript it is being debated on whether or not there should be a class period for the work. 

“I think that it should be a class, because then it will make students that don’t have time at home to have time to finish up and actually work on them,” senior Selena Mixquititla said. “But then I feel like if it was a class, students would take advantage of the extra time and just mess around because they’d get bored easily.”

Although, students feel it would be helpful to have one extra work time in school. They also believe it would be wasted on other homework or activities rather than Xello.

“I do think Xello is too much of a weight,” Nelson said. “Some of these activities take more than 20 minutes to finish and advising isn’t all that long. Especially, when you add announcements on top of it. Plus, you have your other homework and lunch and learn is not always available to us because we’re roosted and then we need to eat lunch as well. So I do think it definitely affects our workload, and our stress levels. I have felt really stressful lately and it’s part of it is trying to get Xello done.”

It comes down to managing time and using every second available. 

“The goal is to use that entire amount of time so it really boils down to managing your time and prioritizing things that you need to get done,” said Secard. “But if you are feeling that you are in that kind of crunch mode, having a conversation with your advisor or even one of the counselors would definitely be to your benefit.”

Despite conversations with advisors and counselors, it may still be difficult for students who take harder classes and get more work.

“When I was talking to others, they said they don’t like it because it’s adding more stress on top of  their homework and classes. So they don’t like doing the little tasks because they have harder classes, they’re taking,” said Mixquititla. “I finished it, all within the first month they gave it out because it’s really not that hard to do. But for other people they’re taking more AP classes which could make it more stressful for them, because they have more homework than other students.”

No matter how stressful the requirements can be, to many school districts, it seems that Xello is something they’re hoping will be helpful to students.

“I really hope that students are enjoying Xello. I’ve looked around in it myself and I’ve answered some of the questions, as if I were a student and it really is kind of fascinating,” said Secard. “It kind of gets into your brain and like oh yeah this is something that I’m interested in and I didn’t even really realize that was a job. So we’re hoping it can really be beneficial.”