Helping Your Child through High School

The Role of the Guidance Office, the Teacher, and the Parent

 

As a parent, you want your child's high school years to be happy and fruitful; a time that shows a gradual growth from a dependent child into a maturing adult who can make most of his/her decisions on his/her own. For some, the road is a rocky one. Your child may be one that, seemingly at every turn, procrastinates, doesn't prioritize, forgets deadlines, and may act like he doesn't care about what you know he needs to care about.

 

“What is a mother (or dad) to do?”

 

If at any time you as parents feel something is not “right” at home with your child—his mood, habits or behavior—and you have been concerned for a while (the problem is not going away), St. Pius would be happy to help. Whether the concern is academic, personal, or college-related, someone at Pius can step in.

 

First, define the problem (if you can). For example, if your child's grades are falling or they have always been low and there is no other problem area, the first call or appointment should be with the teacher. If the teacher and the parent are on the same page and the student knows they are united to help the student, improvement can be on the horizon. If improvement is not seen, then a call to the Guidance office is called for. Whatever counselor has seen the student will collect information from the teachers and see the child and in some cases, begin to see the student on a regular basis if this is called for. Many students voluntarily come into the Guidance office regularly to talk and get direction. Things to remember about an academic problem :

• The teacher and department head are the first people to call for help. Go with your child to see the teacher and take advantage of the parent-teacher conference nights.
• Call your child's counselor to get additional help if the problem escalates or you think because we know the child well, we can speed things along. (All students are seen by a counselor in 9 th grade for an interview and in a 6-week group out of their Health class called Life Choices. They are part of a 10-week career/college group in the 11 th grade. So there is at least one counselor that knows your child. If you or your child has had previous experience or contact with another counselor, feel free to call that counselor for help.)
• If nothing seems to remediate the problem or it has been ongoing before you have brought it to our attention, Guidance may suggest that you get psychoeducational testing for your child. Guidance has psychometrists that we can recommend but setting up the testing is done by the family. The Guidance office helps the family through the process and is willing to meet along with the teachers and the tester and parents to decide how to help the student improve by making any accommodations that are necessary. If it is determined that academic support from our Learning Lab program is necessary, scheduling changes will be attempted to give the student the one period a day in Lab, in which the student receives structured academic support and follow up. Contact is maintained between the Lab teacher and the student's academic teacher to closely monitor progress. This information on student performance is then communicated to the parents on a regular schedule. The Guidance personnel act as additional helpers, having one-on-one and group contact with these lab students throughout the semester.

 

What if the problem is not just an academic one?

 

A second scenario that a parent may need help from the school is if they are concerned about their child's emotional well being. Some parents have called the Guidance office to have one of the counselors see their child because their child seems withdrawn, overly moody or extremely sad. Many times parents have a “gut” feeling that something is wrong, but don't know what it is. A counselor will see your child, talk to teachers, coaches and other staff that interact with the student and design a course of action. Confidentiality is maintained unless there is evidence that the issue poses immediate danger to the child (i.e. suicide/abuse/harassment).

 

Teachers often refer a child to the guidance office for the same reasons. After the child has been seen by a counselor and it has been established that there is a serious concern, parents are informed and a plan of action in mapped out.

 

Students also self refer. It is very common for individuals to come in to the Guidance office, some with friends, some by themselves, to seek help wading through adolescent issues like relationships, dating, communicating with adults and stress to name a few. It is not seen as something negative to walk into the Guidance office because as one child said to a prospective student, “the counselors are great people to talk to especially considering that they are adults. My counselor saved me many times.”

 

How does St. Pius X help families prepare for college?

 

St. Pius X is a college preparatory school. This means that nearly 100% of our graduating seniors go on to college every year. Our faculty, knowing this, is driven by the desire to demand excellence in the classroom and insure that every student who graduates from St. Pius has had experiences with critical thinking, analytical class discussion and systematic instruction in writing. Alum who return every year to visit talk about how well prepared they feel for the rigors of college work.

 

The Guidance office starts to disseminate college information to students in the freshman year in Life Choices groups.

 

The 9 th graders are registered on Naviance , our web-based college management system. Naviance allows us to use data from our high school to gain insights into college admission decisions that our students are making. The guidance counselors can also examine any trends or changes that are evident by what type of student colleges accept in a given year. Data is analyzed. Statistical information, like GPA, SAT and other important criteria that colleges use to admit students, is updated and published. It is given to the freshmen along with a discussion of what it takes to get into college. Every freshman is given a copy of their transcript and taught how to calculate their GPA and told how every class is an important determinant of their student performance.

 

Family Connection is a part of Naviance that allows students and parents to access college admission information from home. Every semester each student's GPA is updated and their PSAT/SAT scores are entered as we receive them. Parents and students can keep track of student performance and how they compare with recent admits.

 

Parents can begin to discuss the college process and take some short trips to nearby colleges. It is never too soon to start looking at campuses and examine first hand what “small” really looks like or that a large university can be overwhelming to some.

 

In the 11 th grade every student is scheduled for a Career/College Awareness group. For 10-12 weeks, once a week, a counselor leads a group of 10 through a systematic examination of interests, personality, careers, majors and finally college selection. Personal data is put in a file on Naviance and My Road , another web-based system that helps a student research college and career opportunities. Parents and students have the ability together to access this information from home and plan for post secondary education. The child has several individual meetings with their counselor as a part of the career/college group. Many parents make individual appointments with the counselor to discuss their child's college choices. This contact is welcomed.

 

In September of the junior year, College Night is held, inviting all juniors and parents to hear about the college application process from our counselors and noted national and state college admission personnel. Our College Handbook , outlining the St. Pius college admission schedule, critical terms and resources, is handed out to each family that night. (The Handbook is also on the Guidance webpage.) All parents are welcomed to call or come in to discuss the application process as questions arise.

 

In January of the junior year, a parent potluck supper is held and the guidance office director redefines the timeline and helps parents reassess where each family is in the college process.

 

This 11 th grade preparation sets the stage for a well-framed procedure for applying to colleges in the fall of the 12 th grade. Even though many applicants choose to apply online, St. Pius continues to be an integral part of the application process.

•  Counselors write recommendations when required, review and help with college essays and interviews, confer with college admission staff when necessary, especially when students are placed on college wait lists and keep tract of teacher recommendations that are being sent out with other transcript data.

•  Parents and students are responsible for checking with colleges to make sure all data has been received by the institution. Especially in large universities that may be handling 10 to 20 thousand applications, papers can easily be misplaced. It is also wise to look at your student's online application before it is submitted, to spot possible errors or weaknesses that may hurt their chances for admission.

 

The passage from adolescence to adulthood is challenging at best. The chances for a smooth transition are enhanced when the school and the family are clear about their responsibilities and work together to help develop a bright future for each child.