Tips for High School Counseling

High school counselors have many responsibilities including helping students discover their post-high school career goals. They also work with students on job searches, refining resume writing skills and interviewing basics. Plus, high school counselors work closely with staff to identify students that need special assistance. Here’s a few tips for counselors looking to challenge, motivate and encourage students.

Bright students often become bored in courses that aren’t stimulating them enough. Work closely with teachers to identify these students and discuss ways to encourage learning and growth. For example, you can work with teachers to find outside reading or a special project that would be appropriate for the subject matter. Help the student understand that growing intellectually will stand out on college applications and other endeavors.

Many high school students aren’t sure what they’ll do after graduation. Although many know they’ll attend college, choosing a career is difficult. This can be scary the last year of high school. High school counselors can work with students to focus on skills. For example, a student has no idea what to study after graduation, but loves art. A few options? Graphic design, teaching art or becoming an interior designer. Help the student brainstorm ideas.

Some students have issues their freshman and sophomore year and get behind in coursework. Desperately trying to catch up to graduate with their class, they overload their course schedule. This is overwhelming and inhibits students from getting the full benefit from classes. Instead, encourage students to take on summer school to spread the course load out.

When working with graduating seniors, it's helpful to plan college tours. To start this process, take an informal survey of which colleges students are planning on attending. This will assist you in focusing your planning efforts. Contact college admissions representatives and schedule tours. Then, charter buses and distribute permission slip forms to students interested in attending. Plus, you may want to plan a parent information night prior to the trip to answer questions, especially if the students will be gone overnight. Also, make sure to design fun activities for the bus ride to entertain students. You can also create souvenir t-shirts with the college tour information, and students can sign each others shirts.

There are many publications that write articles to help the high school counseling professional. For example, www.nextstepmagazine.com publishes an e-newsletter with tips on assisting high school students with a variety of challenges. Also, www.schoolcounselor.org offers the Professional Counseling School Journal, with strategies and methods for counseling high school students.