For the 2014-15 school year, Notre Dame Prep has invested in more features for the Naviance counseling computer system.(Published in the September-October 2014 Blarney Stone)
In a July 1 speech before the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, first lady Michelle Obama told attendees that she is amazed at what a typical school counselor goes through in an average day. “I know that you all have one of the hardest, most stressful, most important and most underappreciated jobs of anyone in this country,” she said. “And I live with the president of the United States!”
Vlado Salic, who heads Notre Dame Prep’s counseling department, says that while he isn’t too concerned about the “underappreciated” part, he does agree that there is much for today’s school counselors to do.
“We wear so many different hats in a given day that it’s tough to pick the most important one,” he said. “But what I think is very critical for us and for the students is the personal aspect of counseling—just being there for them. Someone they can count on, who helps teach life skills, healthy coping skills and can mediate the occasional conflict between friends, parents, teachers, etc.”
Salic says the other equally important side of counseling is the academic and college advising. “I certainly don’t want to minimize the college preparation, career advising, testing, academic assistance, etc., that our counselors provide on any given day.”
Post-secondary planning and the application process, career planning, coping strategies, conflict resolution, classroom guidance, academic skills support, organizational, study and test-taking skills, and study skills are among an extensive list of services that ASCA says school counselors must provide to be effective. And that’s not even half of what’s on ASCA’s list.
More counselors
Salic, who has been at Notre Dame since 1999, says beginning with this new school year, students and parents will see a number of significant changes to the counseling function.
Chief among them is the new face in the group. Over the summer, NDP hired Jason Whalen, who is replacing Justine Sciriha as a high school counselor. Whalen comes to NDP from Clarkston High School, where he served as a school counselor for four years, and University of Detroit-Jesuit High School, where he was director of college counseling. He will be a big help with a substantial number of juniors and seniors, Salic says.
In addition, Salic says, the department will have a greater focus on helping students get into their college of choice, and they will be able to explore all of what it takes to be successful in terms of a career and in life in general.
NDP hired Jason Whalen, who is replacing Justine Sciriha as a high school counselor. Whalen comes to NDP from Clarkston High School, where he served as a school counselor for four years, and University of Detroit-Jesuit High School, where he was director of college counseling.
The counseling group—which, in addition to Salic and Whalen—includes Margie Bond, Jamie Rodda and Stacy Golliff, also plans to provide students with additional programming to help inspire them, to mentor them, to teach skills and provide an environment where they can develop their passions for the things in which they might excel, according to Salic.
“We will have a greater focus on early college and career exploration, starting at middle school and even in elementary school, and offer students opportunities to sink their teeth into something—something that interests them as they head to the four years of high school and college,” Salic said. “At the elementary to middle school transition, for example, students are undergoing big changes. On the instructional level, where just a few months ago they had only one or two teachers, now they may have seven or eight. We want to make sure we’re all looking to better help them ease into these very dramatic new phases of their lives.”
The department also plans to bring in a greater variety of outside career presenters as well as to promote a job shadowing program at Beaumont Hospital for careers in medicine.
NDP’s annual college fair has moved to the spring and there are plans to have smaller but more frequent junior- and senior-parent meetings to discuss college preparation as well as to provide advice on paying for college.
On the more personal level, Salic says counseling will have a renewed focus on suicide prevention programs, a greater awareness of mental wellness and the coping skills and strategies to deal with stress and life’s disappointments.
“We also will be using some new didactic activities to better teach communication skills and substance abuse prevention as well as identifying potential self-destructive behaviors,” he said.
Improved technology
Salic says the school has invested in additional features on the Naviance system to help promote career and personal-strengths exploration and there are plans to have a counseling Twitter account to help disseminate information and reminders to students and parents.
In the next couple of years, the department plans to offer more diverse job-shadowing opportunities and an even more concentrated focus on programs that help reduce stress for students and staff, improve wellbeing and improve students’ sense of direction in life after high school and beyond.
“We at NDP really want to drive down the number of students who lack direction or purpose in college and careers,” Salic says.
When asked about what he thinks is the number-one responsibility of his counseling department, Salic says it’s to be a total advocate for the student.
“We want to inspire them, mentor them and truly believe in them,” he says. “We also want to provide the kind of environment that is comfortable, where all students feel safe and healthy—a place where they can feel free to explore their passions and still be challenged enough to reach their potential.
“Academic-learned skills will help get them through college, but counseling-learned skills will help carry them through the rest of their lives.”
Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.