When many of us are asked to think back to our interaction with our school counselor, the answers are often similar. It was very limited. In many cases, we didn’t even visit with the school counselor.
It wouldn’t be surprising to hear the same answers from today’s graduates. The American School Counselor Association says the national average is a 442-to-1 ratio of students to school counselors. That’s a large number of students for one person to try to assist. Even the ASCA’s recommended 250-to-1 ratio is very large.
Yet deciding what path to follow after high school graduation is one of the more important decisions we are asked to make in our lives. But without proper guidance, making the right decision isn’t always easy.
At the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, students have the benefit of working with one of three student success coordinators — Penny Lock, Jasmine Phillips and Bret Vallun. ASMSA’s 230-plus students are split between the three SSCs to try to ensure a more individualized attention.
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Lock, Phillips and Vallun provide important information about college admission changes and scholarships to the students. They also help guide the students in selecting coursework and class schedules that will be the most beneficial for students to reach their goals.
“It is important for a student success coordinator to stay up to date on college admission changes and scholarship information,” Locke said. “Therefore, maintaining connections to various college and military admission representatives is vital. Having such contacts helps in mapping specific planning for each individual student.”
Vallun said he encourages students to visit him early during their first semester. As he helps them work on their schedules, he asks them about their interests and passions. Getting to know the individual student is important, he said.
“Once I have that information, I can recommend specific opportunities to students as I am made aware of them. At any given time, no matter the subject, I can recommend a handful of students who would be perfect for a scholarship, award or program,” Vallun said.
Lock agreed that getting to know the student beyond their grades is important.
“I enjoy working with students and getting to know the individual student as a whole,” Lock said. “Each student has individual needs and goals. They have different personalities. I try to provide a welcoming and safe space for my students to ask questions and to try to express themselves and any concerns.”
Having that knowledge about each student also helps the SSCs with one of their more important duties — writing recommendation letters.
“Individualized attention allows us the opportunity to know a lot about each student,” Vallun said. “We know their personality, learning style, past, present and aspirations. They have the opportunity to share personal stories of success and failure. It allows us to write outstanding recommendations for their prospective colleges and create individualized action plans instead of a generic trial and error approach to common struggles. We can really advocate for these students while remaining credible because we know them.”
It’s also important for the SSCs to have a relationship with a student’s parents, Lock said.
“I believe it important for the parents to continue an active role in their student’s journey at ASMSA. They know their student therefore their insight can be helpful to us in assisting the student,” she said.
Vallun agreed with Lock, saying it is important that parents encourage and support their students.
“As long as parents are motivating their students to pursue their educational dreams, supporting them through the process despite failures, and encouraging them to seek out helpful resources, their student will have a positive high school experience,” he said.
Both Lock and Vallun said the favorite part of their job is watching students grow and succeed.
“It is amazing to witness the transformation from their beginnings at ASMSA to graduation day,” Lock said.
“My favorite part of my job is when a student shares their success stories with me,” Vallun said. “Whether it is a college acceptance, scholarship or award, it is a great moment because they are so happy and grateful.
“I especially relish college signing day. Students experience so much stress throughout the application process, so when they have several acceptances in front of them, it makes me happy to see that all of their work was recognized.”
Vallun enjoys when ASMSA graduates come back to visit him as well because they usually provide some information that he can share with current students.
“They usually offer some insight into their college experience that I can share with current ASMSA students. Most importantly, it helps me realize that our office is making a positive impact on our students,” he said.