Guidance & Counseling
At-A-Glance
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Staff | Guidance | Counseling | Health | Curriculum Planning
Guidance & Counseling Staff
Diana Ashley, Counselor
• North IHS students
• Students graduating in 2008 with last names A-K
Kelly McGhehey, Counselor
• Academy of Arts students
• Students graduating in 2008 with last names L-Z
Kira Shrem, Counselor
• School of IDEAS students
Sandy Watkinson
Department and Career Center assistant
Liz Rommel
School-to-Career coordinator
Cal Coleman
Drug and alcohol counselor
Julie Adams
Part-time work-study student assistant (not pictured)
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Staff | Guidance | Counseling | Health | Curriculum
Planning
Guidance Services
The Guidance & Counseling Department provides a comprehensive program
of services and activities to all students during high school. Our program
follows the Oregon Framework for Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling, and
includes 3 guidance counselors, a career center coordinator, a school-to-career
coordinator, and a part-time substance abuse counselor.
Additional support
services include comprehensive health services through our school-based health
clinic, mental health services through our school-based therapist, and English
Language Learner assistance with a Spanish-speaking specialist. We strive
to provide all students with the information and experiences they need to
grow in each of the four areas listed in our mission statement, acknowledging
that these are all lifelong processes. Some of the activities include:
• Student advocacy
• Academic advising/scheduling
• 4-year planning
• Tracking credits for graduation
• Assistance with career-related graduation requirements
• Assistance with IEP and 504 plans
• Grade-level guidance curriculum
• Advisory program coordination
• College advising and planning
• Naviance web-based guidance system
• Evening meetings for families
• College entrance and AP testing
• Financial aid and scholorship advising
• Mental health services and referrals
• Substance abuse prevention/intervention
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Counseling Services
The Counseling Center is made up of staff that are interested in seeing
that every student at North has a positive and healthy experience in high
school and is prepared for what he or she wants to do after graduation. Academic
difficulties as well as personal, social, and family issues are areas that
we are concerned about and want to assist you with.
Responding to requests from parents, teachers, and students, we attempt
to help define the issues, assist with solutions, and provide support and
encouragement. We also make referrals to outside mental health providers
and agencies for further consultation and assistance as needed. Professionals
from the juvenile justice system, social service agencies, and private therapists
also contact us and we work with them to help coordinate support services
for our students and families
We can also assist with drug and alcohol issues. Alateen group meetings
are held in the Counseling Center for students who are concerned about drug
or alcohol use in themselves or someone close to them. In addition we have
a weekly “Girls Chat” group that meets to discuss issues of concern
to young women.
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Nurses and Mental Health Specialist
The counseling staff also works closely with the North Eugene Health Clinic
staff of two nurses and a mental health therapist to provide guidance and
counseling services. The clinic is seen by students as another safe place
to get personal assistance and support. Mark Oldham, L.C.S.W., is a mental
health therapist at North who is available to our students and their families.
Click here to go to the Health
Clinic page.
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Staff | Guidance | Counseling | Health | Curriculum
Planning
Curriculum Planning Overview
In addition to assisting our students to achieve a challenging
and successful high school experience that leads to graduation, our mission
also includes helping students prepare for life after high school.
Self-awareness,
skill development, learning good decision-making skills, and knowledge of
careers and the world of work are all part of the guidance curriculum provided
to students at North. We utilize various means to reach students at each
grade level, focusing on developmental stages as they move through high school.
Classroom guidance, grade-level meetings, career center presentations, individual
conferences, evening meetings for parents and students, community representatives,
off campus experiences and school newsletters are all utilized to provide
important information, experiences and opportunities to our students.
In addition to these system-wide programs, the Counseling and Career Center
is always open to individual students who want to use our resources and staff
to work individually on their research and plans.
Freshman Year
Guidance curriculum is provided at the freshman level through
required social studies and English classes. This curriculum has been developed
jointly between the counselors and the teachers providing the instruction.
The following is included in the freshman career development unit:
Career aptitude evaluation and exploration, use of the C.I.S. computerized
career system, knowledge of the different levels of higher education and
levels of education required for careers, introduction to CAM (Certificate
of Advanced Mastery) programs at North and matching of career choices with
CAM pathways, exploration of college costs, instruction in financial aid
for higher education, career center tour and experience using career center
resources, goal setting instruction, personal transcript evaluation and creation
of tentative four year plan for high school.
Freshmen will take the ACT "Explore" Evaluation
in October, which will help them assess their skills, plan their courses,
and look ahead to college.
At the end of the freshman year, students utilize the information developed
in their career development unit, along with their 4-year plan, to do spring
forecasting for their sophomore year schedule. Freshmen are encouraged to
do community service activities during the summer. Parents of students who
are in credit difficulty are notified after final grades at the end of the
freshman year.
Sophomore Year
Sophomores continue to explore and expand their knowledge
of self and career information as they participate in another career guidance
unit in sophomore English and social studies classes. Activities include
a review and of student transcripts and 4-year plans, continued exploration & goal-setting
in academic, personal and career areas, research using the Career Information
System, development of personal activity sheets for resumes and college
applications and utilization of information in the Oregon Careers 2004
newspaper.
Sophomores will take the PSAT exam in October to assess their skills and
plan for college.
Sophomores also attend a CAM Assembly that provides them with information
on the CAM (Certificate of Advanced Mastery) programs available to them,
as well as access to the staff and students that are involved in these programs.
Again in the spring, sophomores reflect on their 4-year plan to develop
their junior year program during spring forecasting activities. Students
are encouraged to challenge themselves academically and request advanced
courses in academic as well as applied arts areas of the curriculum for the
upcoming year.
Sophomores should also consider doing community service activities during
the summer.
Parents of students who are in credit difficulty are notified after final
grades at the end of the sophomore year.
Junior Year
Guidance information will be provided regularly through
English classes, so that counselors can provide juniors with important
information and upcoming deadlines. Juniors will take the Preliminary Scholastic
Achievement Test (P.S.A.T.) in October. This exam is helpful in giving
juniors comparative information about how they are progressing in verbal
and math areas, as they prepare for education and training beyond high
school. Most 4-year colleges and universities require applicants to take
college entrance tests (SAT 1 or ACT). In addition, the scores from the
junior year P.S.A.T. are used to determine National Merit scholarship qualifiers.
In January of the junior year, the counselors hold an “After North” evening
meeting for juniors and their parents, where P.S.A.T. scores are discussed
in relation to post-high school planning. This meeting offers information
and resources on all options for students after high school. We review
the college selection and application process, technical and trade school
options, apprenticeships, military service, cultural exchanges and employment.
All aspects of financing higher education are also presented.
Juniors should set up a Junior Interview with their counselor beginning
in February so that the counselors can assist each junior on an individual
basis with a review of their graduation status and planning for the senior
year and beyond. Parents are welcome to attend the Junior Interview.
Juniors are encouraged to select a CAM (Certificate
of Advanced Mastery) area of interest and complete a CAM in high school.
The process and tasks involved offer students a chance to select an area
of interest for a future career and focus their upper level study in that
area. In addition, they participate in career exploration activities that
include job shadows in the community and an internship in their focus area.
Though it is not a requirement for graduation, earning a CAM is an excellent
way for students to learn more about their career interests and move toward
their “next steps” after
high school.
At the end of the junior year, students again utilize
their 4-year plan and junior year experiences to plan courses for the senior
year during spring forecasting. Juniors are strongly encouraged to take
SAT1, ACT and SAT II exams in the spring of their junior year, and research
college choices to come up with a ‘short list’ of schools or programs that they
plan to apply to in their senior year. Any students who plan to graduate
on an Individualized Graduation Plan (IHS, IEP, ELL) must turn in their completed
plan to the counselors for approval no later than May 1 of their junior year.
During the summer between the junior and senior year, counselors will send
home a current transcript with an explanation of final credits required for
graduation. Students who do not have the minimum 15 credits at that time
will be reclassified again as a junior. (see reclassification policy). Seniors
and parents should review and discuss this information carefully in planning
for the upcoming senior year. The summer of between the junior and senior
years is a very good time for families to visit college campuses and programs
that are on the student’s “short list”, as those visits
should play an important role in the final decision about where a senior
will go after high school.
Juniors are encouraged to complete their 120 community service hours over
the summer if they intend to apply for the 4J Honors diploma. In addition,
juniors should update and prepare their activities resume for fall college
applications.
Please note that IHS students are required to do an additional Junior Service
and Post-Secondary Research assignment as part of their program.
Senior Year
Senior year begins right away with important tasks
to complete and deadlines to meet. Counselors hold senior grade-level meetings
periodically during the year beginning in September to remind seniors of
these tasks deadlines and opportunities. All seniors should set up a Senior
Interview with their counselor as soon as they arrive back at school to
go over graduation requirements, class schedules and post-high school plans
and deadlines. The fall is a very busy time for important meetings that
all seniors and parents should attend. The counselors offer a very important
evening meeting in September for parents of seniors regarding graduation,
post-high school planning and financing higher education, as well as two “Coffee Talks” during
Wednesday late starts in October and November for seniors to work on completing
their college applications. There is also a very important Financial Aid
Meeting in November for parents and students who need financial assistance
to pursue higher education.
College Entrance Testing (SAT 1, SAT II, ACT) needs to be completed early
in the senior year. Applications are available in late August for all test
dates. College representatives come to North in the fall to visit with students
about their schools, and the calendar for these is also in the Counseling
Center. All seven campuses from the Oregon University System visit North
in October and Lane Community College also visits with North students at
school. The annual Mid-Willamette Valley College Fair is held in October
at Lane, with over 100 colleges and universities sending representative..
CIM and CAM completion, taking challenging courses,
finishing requirements for Honors Diploma, getting applications and essays
polished and ready, visiting college campuses, obtaining letters of recommendation,
participating in job shadows and internships, searching for scholarships…all
of these activities and more make the senior year full of excitement and
challenges.
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