High school seniors are experiencing what many people must learn to accept in life: rejection.

As college acceptance and rejection letters fill mailboxes, students have to come face to face with rejection. No one enjoys rejection, but it is a very real part of growing up. Rejection can come from a number of different places.

Sometimes it rears its head when the list of the varsity sports team is posted and a student didn’t make the cut. Or, it can come when students audition for speaking roles in a play and fail to be casted. Rejection can also surface in the midst of high school cliques. Whatever form rejection takes, learning to cope with it early makes students better prepared to succeed in life.
Read the rest of this entry »

Special education is often regarded as the step-child to regular education. The students suffer from the stigma of being less smart than other students, and the teachers are often lacking in the resources and support from administrative staff they need to help special education students succeed. Now, the law is potentially working against them.

According to an article published in the Arizona Republic, “The law, a reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, specifically will affect the way parents monitor the progress of their child, how schools handle discipline, how students are instructed, how special-needs children in private schools receive services and how state education officials oversee it all.”

Learn more about the changes that will affect special education programs and the special-needs students they service across the country.

It is common knowledge that drug use has been prevalent among teens for decades. But according to a new study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the types of drugs used are changing.

Gone are the days when marijuana was the drug of choice for America’s teens. Its users declined to 37 percent from 42 percent just six years earlier. Also down 3 percent is the use of ecstasy and methamphetamine usage is down 4 percent. So what are teens using to get high these days?
Read the rest of this entry »

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) made standardized testing mandatory for the majority of America’s public school educated students. Teachers have found creative ways to combat the additional stress.

“Across the nation, educators are trying a variety of methods — including beach days, barbecues, flute music and fun hats — to ease student test anxiety as schools face increased pressure to improve their scores under NCLB,” an article on CNN.com reported.

Gregory J. Cizek, an education professor at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, said relaxation techniques can help take the edge off students’ test anxiety.
Read the rest of this entry »

Senioritis is a headache for high school counselors, teachers and administrators and pain the lawmakers? necks.

High school students’ affinity for laziness during the second half of their senior years has been a growing problem for some time now. And for a long time, it has been something that high school counselors and teachers have learned to deal with. But with No Child Left Behind calling for state accountability, the tolerated phenomenon is becoming a subject of lawmakers? debate.
Read the rest of this entry »

Nowadays, the majority of high school graduates go on to college of some form. Whether it is a traditional four-year college, a two-year college, a career college, a technical college or an apprentice program, higher education is a necessity in our technology-driven world.
Read the rest of this entry »

The approaching high school graduation season can lead to mixed feelings among parents, teachers, high school counselors and students. Not everyone will get to walk across the stage.

The President’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has brought national attention to a problem that has plagued the public school system in both rural and urban areas for decades. Attending under-performing schools is a way of life for these low-income students.
Read the rest of this entry »

When they hear talk of college commitment letters, most people automatically think of athletes who must commit to a school to secure their athletic scholarships. April is the time of year when all future college students commit to a college or university.

Choosing among the many options can be the first step toward the rest of a student’s future. Students must weigh the pros and cons of each school to select the one that best fits their academic and social needs. With so much going into the selection process, it can be a stressful decision for 17 and 18 year-olds to make. High school counselors can work with parents to help students make wise choices when they commit to a school.
Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to college admissions, grades, activities and outstanding achievement are necessary to stand out from the bunch.

Colleges and universities receive thousands of applications in the mail each year. A growing population of college-aged students has resulted in increases in enrollment and made competition at even moderately competitive schools brutal. The need to get into a good college puts a lot of pressure on high school students. It’s not enough to have good grades, high standardized test scores, glowing recommendations, a well-written application essay and a good college interview.
Read the rest of this entry »

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, safety must be satisfied in order to experience love, develop high self-esteem and achieve self-actualization. It is, therefore, imperative that high school students feel safe if they are to achieve academically.

As we continue our celebration of National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign Week, Counselor Companion offers high school counselors, administrators and teachers a few suggestions on how to increase the safety of their students on school property. Many of our recommendations come from the Guidance Channel Online.
Read the rest of this entry »