How to Make the Most of a Guidance Counselor

There's more to school guidance than choosing a college. Here's how to maximize school guidance resources from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• College Guides
• File Folders
• Personal Organizers
• résumé paper
• résumé software

1. Become familiar with the guidance personnel at your child's school and with what services they provide. Typically, the focus is mostly on social and emotional counseling in the elementary grades, and shifts toward academic and career counseling in the middle and high school years.

2. Contact the guidance counselor first if you suspect your child has special needs, such as a learning disability or attention deficit. The guidance counselor is the key contact for coordinating special services through Individual Educational Plan (IEP) conferences with parents and specialists, as well as arranging for and interpreting any testing.

3. Work with your child's guidance counselor to make decisions about course selection in the middle and high school grades. The counselor can recommend which courses and tracks are most appropriate for your child.

4. Direct your questions about the school's grading and tracking systems to the guidance counselor as well. The counselor will be able to explain how course grades and class rank are calculated, what those measures mean and where different tracks in each subject area lead.

5. Find out how your child's school handles behavioral problems. The guidance counselor is often the first person students are referred to for disciplinary action resulting from disruptive classroom behavior, excessive absences or other school rule violations.

6. Use the high school guidance resources for college planning and selection, in conjunction with your own research and your child's research. Often, the guidance counselor is most useful in advising students and families about admission requirements and the application process after you have narrowed down your college choices to the final few.

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