1. GLASTONBURY HIGH SCHOOL
Matthew Dunbar, Principal
Ted Gregorski, Director of School Counseling
Kim Herwerth, School Counselor
Mary Metheny, Library Media Specialist
Rosemary Tralli, Director of Career & Vocational Education

2. Glastonbury High School
2100 students
182 Faculty members
4 Assistant Principals
10 Curriculum Directors (K-12)
12 School Counselors
3 School Psychologists
Youth and Family Services

3. Traditional 8 period schedule
Graduation requirements include 14 performance standards and 21 credits
96% of graduating class will attend two or four year colleges
Rigorous curriculum including ECE and AP offerings
Extensive support services including math, writing, and foreign language labs
Over 50 clubs and activities

4. GHS School Counseling Office
The role of the school counselors in preparing your child for college
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12
12 School Counselors (3 smaller caseload counselors)
3 Psychologists
4 Assistant Principals
TEAM Approach

5. Transition to High School Planning for Post Secondary

6. Grade 9 Academic monitoring
Solid schedule including college prep courses
Encourage extracurricular activities
High school transcript information
Planning for next school year with courses and credits
Promote student self advocacy
Close contact with case manager

7. NCAA Eligibility NCAA clearinghouse.org Registration
Knowing what courses are required
Different requirements for Div. I and II
GPA/SAT requirements
Approval of course

8. Ongoing contact with parents
Phone calls (parent school counselor)
Scheduled meetings such as
Freshman parent groups
Case conferences
Planning and Placement Team meetings (PPT’s) or Section 504 meetings

9. Grade 10 Continued reinforcement of importance of:
Academic performance
Accruing credits
Increasing self advocacy skills in managing school challenges
Extracurricular participation

10. Grade 10 College Planning
PSAT
Fall practice test for SAT Reasoning Test
Registration information is reviewed with students in classroom setting prior to test date
Individual career/ personality/interest inventories offered to students on NAVIANCE during their Health and Physical Education Class
Sophomore Parent Breakfast
Students are encouraged to attend the Fall College Fair at Glastonbury High School

11. Postsecondary Planning
Grade 11
Postsecondary Planning

12. Focus on General Post Secondary Planning
PSAT’s in fall
Fall College/Career Fair
Junior Mini Groups
Exploring Colleges and Careers on NAVIANCE
Individual career/interest inventories
Spring Individual Junior Parent meetings

13. Post-Secondary Transition Plan
Grade 12
Post-Secondary Transition Plan

14. Goals for Successful Post Secondary Transition :
Student to develop/maintain good academic habits
Student to practice good self advocacy skills
Student and families to use supports to put in place a post-secondary plan
Team of student, parent(s) and school staff

15. Course offerings for Career interests:
Health Careers Collaborative
Advanced Research Mentorship
Great Path Academy
Academy of the Arts
Academy of Math and Science
Agriscience and Technology

16. Support Programs 9th grade Mentor Program
English for English Language Learners (ELL)
Senior Focus Group
Big Brother/Big Sister Program
Evening presentation on college awareness for the student with special needs
Peer Tutoring Center
A program designed for freshmen who are identified by their middle school counselor as being at risk for potential poor performance due to weak organizational and/or study skills, attendance issues, low self-esteem, below potential grade attainment, immaturity as reflected in behavior problems or low achievement motivation. Reg Ed teachers volunteer to staff the mentor study hall and meet with a maximum of 7 students daily. Goals: establish a bond with a trusted adult, provide assistance with academic problems, personal/ social development, coordinate information with other teachers. Helps students realize the benefits of utilizing a team support system; including school counselors, administrators and psychologists.
ELL Students new to English will follow a sequence of study similar to other language courses. Course covers intro to the English language, American culture, vocabulary, grammer, as well as, Reading Writing and listening. A ELL New student group is also offered, facilitated by school counselors.
Senior Focus is a six week informational group designed for students who are still undecided about their post secondary plans. Topics explored include, military service, employment, Job Corp, and community college. Career exploration and decision making on an individual basis with the student’s school counselor.
Big Brother/Big Sister organized by the Assistant Principal. This program compliments the school counseling program in that it helps to facilitate the transition of ninth graders to the high school. Selected juniors and seniors serve as Big Bro/Sis to incoming 9th graders to serve as a mentor, ensuring that they get off to a positive start at the high school. They also answer ques., familiarize with school policies and on-going communication starting in the summer
This center, housed within our Career Guidance Center, is utilized daily for the purposes of peer tutoring.  Historically, National Honor Society members have been required to tutor fellow students in need of short term assistance. 

17. The School’s role in preparing student’s with Special Needs for transition
Incorporated in the curriculum
Students have 2 classes through the special ed department called Strategies for Success 1 & 2 that include explanation of their disabilities, strategies to compensate and self advocacy skills
Expect increasing independence and self advocacy from students as they progress through high school
Reduce unnecessary modifications
Provide as rigorous a curriculum as the student can manage with increasing independence

18. A Key Cognitive Strategy for College Success
Ability to evaluate the credibility and utility of source material and then integrate sources into a paper or project appropriately
David Conley
Today’s Keynote Speaker

19. GHS Performance Standard #19
The Glastonbury High School student researches effectively by locating, accessing, evaluating and using appropriate information from a variety of sources.
This standard is not required to graduate, but currently 88% of our graduates meet or exceed this standard.
Skills learned to pass the research standard are crucial for college and employment readiness.
Today’s post high school students and workers will be required to find, evaluate and use information creatively and ethically.

20. Library Orientation and Four Common Required Research Experiences
Taught collaboratively – library media program and core curriculum areas
Assessed collaboratively by library media specialist and classroom teacher
This collaboration helps students to realize that the research skills they learn should be used everywhere for all their information needs..

21. Library Orientation
Week long introduction to library databases for research and web evaluation tools
Establishes a base from which all future research at GHS happens
Taught and assessed by library media specialists in collaboration with the English/Language Arts department.

22. Freshman I-Search Choose a topic of personal interest
Four required sources including one book
Cite in MLA documentation style
Taught in collaboration with the English/Language Arts Department
Topics such as career choices, diseases, travel, history of a sport, etc.
For many students this is first time they have to integrate several sources into one paper.
Pay close attention to difference in accessing info from books and online
Reflection on the search process –
Cited in MLA style because it is the accepted style for papers written in the English/Language Arts discipline

23. Sophomore Persuasive Essay
Choose a controversial topic
Take a stand
Support ideas with evidence from at least 3 current sources
Cite in MLA
documentation
style
Taught in collaboration with the English/Language Arts Department
Topics like Should cell phones be banned from schools? Should high school start times be later?
This assignment is completed before the CAPT testing in March – building on freshman research skills while practicing for CAPT interdisciplinary writing component

24. Junior U.S. History Paper
Choose a topic in American history
Formulate a question/thesis
Support ideas and analysis with seven sources including one
print monograph and
one primary source
Cite in Chicago
documentation style
Taught in collaboration with History/Social Science department
Topics like The Impact of the Black Panthers on the Civil Rights Movement – Were they a help or a hindrance? Evaluating the economic philosophy of President Ronald Reagan. Was Reaganomics a success or failure?
This is an analytical paper rather than informational. Students are required to read and use large sections of information from their monographs to give some depth to their papers. A primary source is incorporated in a meaningful way allowing students to see the impact events have on people.
Cited in Chicago style because it is the accepted style for papers published in the History discipline.

25. Senior Current Issues Papers
Choose one foreign policy topic and one domestic policy topic
Ask a question and take a position
Support ideas with evidence from five sources no older than one year.
Cited in APA
documentation style
Taught in collaboration with the History/Social Science department
Questions like “Should suspected terrorists be read their Miranda rights?” or “Should the Defense of Marriage Act be repealed?”
Students learn efficient searching techniques for online research – how to narrow Google searches, exposure to government portals like USA.gov
Practice web evaluation skills learned in previous years
Cited in APA style because it is the accepted style for the social science field

26. 21st Century Skills Creative and critical thinking Generate ideas from
multiple sources of
reliable information
Information literacy/fluency
Respect for intellectual property
Transfer of skills across disciplines
Adherence to schedule of due dates
The common required research experiences give students knowledge and skills to help them compete in life after high school.

27. Building Post-Secondary Bridges through Connecticut Career Pathways

28. Perkins IV
Throughout , CTE programs shall address the following activities:
Standards-based curriculum
State CTE Assessment System
Work-based learning
Career pathways
Career & technical student organizations
Postsecondary linkages

29. Articulation Agreements
Manchester Community College
Middlesex Community College
University of Connecticut

30. Current Work-Based Learning Experiences
Allied Health Clinical Experience
Hartford Hospital
St. Francis Hospital
Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE)
Allied Health Clinical Experience: A hands-on learning experience aligned with an instructional program that takes place in an allied health environment, such as hospitals and convalescent facilities, where students are supervised by allied health professionals.
Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE): A planned, supervised and paid work experience through which students receive systematic, organized and supervised on-the-job training related to their Agricultural Science and Technology Education instruction. The work experience program is initiated by a written cooperative arrangement between the student, the school and the employer. All students enrolled in Regional Agricultural Science and Technology Education Centers must have an SAE, in either an agriculture-specific or agriculture-related occupation.

31. Strategies that Build Connections
Inform students, parents, teachers and counselors
Develop ongoing relationships with post-secondary institutions
Build standards-based curriculum that links to career pathways
Develop structured work-experiences
Analyze test data and use that data to inform instruction