Guidelines - The ConVal Guidance Newsletter

April 2007

New Requirements

The ConVal School Board recently increased the number and type of mandated requirements for ConVal High School students. The total number of required credits for graduation remains at 26, but, beginning with the Class of 2011 (incoming ninth graders), there will be an increase of .5 credit in Career Education, .5 credit in Consumer Education, an additional .5 credit in Health (for a total of 1 full credit), and an additional .5 credit in Global Studies (which we already meet through the Eastern World Heritage course). This means that the number of content specific courses that every ConVal student takes will go from 14 to 16 credits. While this definitely applies to the class of 2011, Board members are still considering having some of these apply to the current freshman class of 2010. In part these new requirements are the result of forums that many students participated in last year. Career Education and Consumer Education were both very high on the student lists as areas that they felt they needed more information on.

The Guidance Department has been in process of attempting to meet its own new standards this year. While we have always been a fairly traditional department, we are making efforts to contribute more significantly to the student body than has ever been possible from our individual offices. The American School Counseling Association has developed a Comprehensive School Guidance Model that basically calls upon Guidance offices to get “out in front” of students more instead of waiting for students to come to us. This point of view has been further reinforced by the new State Standards that require a transition to a model that allows us to spend a greater proportion of our time in whole school activities. The addition of a Guidance Counselor to our staffing this year has allowed each of us to become more involved in these projects. Here are some examples:

Career Exploration Forums

Beginning with the class of 2011, students will be required to engage in a series of activities to meet a Career Education requirement of _ credit. This year, we have begun to provide a series of presentations to students in each of 16 career cluster areas. So far this year, we've brought community members in the areas of Art and Theater, Business, and Finance, Marketing and Advertising, and Human Services. Over the next four weeks, forums will include Hospitality and Tourism, Health Sciences, and Education/Training. Our goal is to provide students with exposure to the many paths that people take to a career. Some of our guests are from outside the school while others are individuals who have had varied paths to teaching within our school. In any case, these presentations broaden the possibilities for students.

Allies

Ms. Ingram has played a key role in the development of a group of our most compassionate students who have engaged in training to become same age companions to many of our most challenged students.

Positive Behavior Intervention Program

Our counselors and Mr. Kitz are contributing in significant ways to our “whole school” behavioral strategy that is designed to foster appropriate language, respect for self and others, and positive hallway behavior. We assist in the gathering of data and are members of teams that are actively recommending strategies to assist with students who struggle to conform in a traditional school atmosphere.

Academic Assistance Group

Two of our staff have formed a group of ninth grade boys who have demonstrated a pattern of “not doing so well”. We are hoping that these students will accept this support and set more positive goals for themselves despite some significant personal challenges.

Scholarship Development

We have partnered with the ConVal Community Scholarship Foundation to provide incentives and scholarships to students with significant personal and/or financial need. In addition, we have recommended students to Big Brothers/Big Sisters whom we feel might attend college if they have the support and assistance of an adult who can take them for college visits and assist them in the college application process.

Special Programs

In association with local foundations, we have brought presentations on Internet Safety and Date Abuse to our students. “The Yellow Dress”, which is a one act play designed to increase student awareness about the dangers of date rape took place on March 20th for all students who took Computers/Health this year. s we develop our Career Education plans, and as our Health curriculum becomes better defined, counselors will have further opportunities to service all students in ways that will cause them to reflect upon the decisions they make and the paths they choose. We look forward to these challenges, while maintaining a high level of service to individual students and families as well.