Interview with Ms. McConnell, School Counselors at Columbus High School, Columbus Municipal School District in Columbus MS
My first question: What population do you serve at this school location? Columbus High school population has a total of one thousand and three hundred student’s grades from ninth through twelfth grade. The school is broken down where ninth and tenth grades are focusing on more core curriculum for state testing and 11th and 12th are preparing for ACT and SAT and graduation. The school has a different variety of multicultural students some African Americans, White Caucasian, Hispanic, Asians and some Mexicans background.
What courses and AP courses do students need to take to be ready for college? Students are required to have twenty four credits to graduate. Students can take two years of foreign language or one year foreign language and advanced geography to get them prepared for college. Most students take Advanced English one and two these students earn credit hours why they are in High school. They do not have to take English comp 1 or 2 because they took the English to earn their credits in high school. Most students who take the Advanced English and foreign language have a GPA of a 3.5 or higher. Students who take regular classes are required to take four English’s, Algebra, Fine Arts and PE to get them prepared for graduation.
How students should get prepared and start studying for the ACT and SAT, and will it be given at Columbus high
The teacher I interviewed for this project was a fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Keith Wolkovitz. This teacher has been teaching at East Rock Community Magnet School for his entire career of eleven years. East Rock Community Magnet School is a Title I school in the New Haven School District. The school has a very diverse population and over 90% of the students qualify for the free-reduced lunch program. As a Title I school, the school is also mandated by the state to implement certain remedial interventions to improve students’ academic scores.
I have been acquainted with Ms. Banks- Tillman since 2009- 2013, as her high school guidance counselor. As a student at Winter Park High School, Ms. Banks- Tillman was always motivated to learning for the pure sake of interacting with new information. She always stayed focus to her education despite the distractions that occurred all around her. Ms. Banks- Tillman was transcended in the classrooms by working hard, earning good grades and graduating high school, then to further her education and attend college. Ms. Banks- Tillman was dedicated to community service and completed well over 80 hours. Last, Ms. Banks- Tillman was a skilled athlete participating
The agency I have chosen to volunteer my time at this semester is Nathaniel Bowditch Elementary, which is a part of the Salem Public School district. Nathaniel Bowditch is located at 79 Willson Street, Salem Massachusetts. This school provides education to students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Within this school, I am currently volunteering my time with Rebekah Prescott. Rebekah is the school adjustment counselor for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, a caseload of about three hundred students. The goal of this paper is to describe in detail the Nathaniel Bowditch School including the agency’s history, mission, organization, the services being provided, qualifications for these servers,
My agency volunteer work takes place at Busch Middle School of Character, it is through Urban Future which offers after school tutoring, mentoring, transportation, and many other opportunities for the student’s education to be enriched. Busch Middle School typically enrolls around 300-400 6th, 7th, and 8th graders each year. Urban future relays mainly on volunteers to assist with the after school services they provide as well as project mangers that are in charge of running the programs at Busch Middle School. My volunteer work included tutoring 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in the resource lab, during this time the students worked on their reading skills in a program called Achieve3000. Achieve3000 is a program that steadily increases students’ ability to read, comprehend, apply, and communicate information derived from complex text. My role in the resource lab was to make sure every student was understanding the material, and if not, to sit down one on one with a student to help them with their current Achieve3000 lesson. In the resource lab, each student did their very best to engage themselves in the program and expand their level of knowledge.
Working in schools for over 20 years, Ms. Morris has gathered a great deal of experience working with students. She has taught in parts of Tennessee, Florida, and Waterloo, Iowa, and has worked with hundreds of students there. What brought Ms. Morris to East High School was the enormous amount of school spirit students had. After attending a school game and experiencing the pride students had for their school first hand, Ms. Morris knew that East High was where she wanted to be. Surrounded by students who were so drenched in their school, she felt stronger desire to get a chance to work with East High Scarlets and fell in love quite quickly.
At Tradewinds High School (THS) we serve students grades 9-12. Our mission is to create a safe and challenging learning environment in which promotes personal responsibility and empowers student success. Safety, Academics, and Pride are at the forefront of our schools vision. If we do these three things well, we will have every student experience success. Priorities for this school are as follows:
For this paper, I decided to focus my attention on one population that I am potentially interested in working with, which are high school students. The first person I interviewed was a ninth-grade counselor at Alain Leroy Locke College Prepartory Academy. The second person I interviewed was a College Adviser, placed through USC, at Diego Rivera Learning Complex. While the first interview was conducted on site at Locke, the second interview was conducted on campus at USC. For both interviews, I came equipped with my questions already printed out and ready for me to write my interviewees responses down. In discussing the challenges that both the counselor and adviser experience in terms of learning, it is important to first understand the population of students that both professionals work with. While both schools are in South Los Angeles, Diego Rivera Learning Complex is a part of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), while Alain Leroy Locke is run by Green Dot Public Schools—even though it is still within LAUSD boundaries. Both schools have a primarily minority and low-income population.
Children are the future of the world. I feel as though it is important to invest in their academic, psychological, and physical development. School counseling is a potential career option that would allow me to achieve that goal. For this reason, I chose to interview my cousin, Ms. Sonya Wright, a professional school counselor at the Barack and Michelle Obama Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. In her position, she is expected to guide, support, and advise students and their families in hopes to alleviate any problems or issues that may cause the student stress. Her main goal is to be a resource for students so that they are able to successfully perform academically and mentally function inside and outside of the classroom. She is able to reach students in a way that allows them the opportunity for stability and support to succeed and thrive. Having the ability to inspire and influence a child in such a powerful way is something that strive for in my future aspirations.
For my informational interview I interviewed Hasty Elementary School Counselor Candace Thurman. Mrs. Thurman earned her B.A. in Psychology from Salem College and a MA Ed.S in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner Webb University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor. Her maternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was homeless. Seeing the impact his condition had on him as well as her family compelled her to choose a career in mental health. Mrs. Thurman worked in the middle school setting for 11 years. This year is her first year in an elementary school.
My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.
Summer vacation is drawing to a close, and you are wondering how to get organized for the upcoming school year. This can be a stressful time for you and your children as school means getting down to business and focusing on back to school organiztion for needed school supplies, back to school clothes, a morning routine and after school process.
This semester I have grown as a student in the area of college readiness. This has allowed me to feel more planned for college. I have gained knowledge about college and how to prepare in order to be successful. In advisory we read a “college- going 101 timeline,” which provided steps on how to get ready for college. It gave me a list of procedures I can follow throughout high school. Some procedures it gave me where to; begin keeping a folder of important information, create a list of possible colleges to apply to, and attend a college fair.
For my Rural Urban Collaborative experience, I am placed at Salem Elementary School through the Columbus City Schools. Salem Elementary is located on the outskirts of downtown Columbus. The school houses students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with about two teachers per grade level. The school strives to celebrate diversity between students, teachers, parents, and the community. Since placed, the knowledge that I have obtained through my education classes and the information provided by the state report card both interconnect and relate further.
The setting is Washington Elementary School in West Orange, NJ. The grade I picked is first grade. The age group in the class is between the ages of five and seven. The subjects they learn are math, language arts, social studies, and writing. But they focus more on reading and math throughout the day. There are 8 girls and 8 boys in the classroom which makes 16 students in total. The class is divided into three racial and ethnic groups which are Latino or Hispanic, African Americans, and Asian American. There are about 1 Asian American, 6 Latino or Hispanic, and 9 African Americans.
Are you ready for Advanced Placement? Have you demonstrated you're ready to expand your learning and have you maintained a 3.5 GPA, then we encourage you to take AP classes, AP U.S. History or AP English Language Composition, next year.