OUSD Secondary Counseling
March 2022
OUSD School Counseling Mission:
The mission of the OUSD School Counseling Program is to provide a district-wide comprehensive, equitable, and accessible system of support to all students. Our students will acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to achieve academic success, college and career readiness, and healthy social/emotional development.
OUSD School Counseling Vision:
Our OUSD School Counseling Program fosters student success in a diverse and changing world by graduating students who are prepared to make a positive impact on humanity and meet the demands of their college, career, and life goals.
Hello secondary school counselors,
For this newsletter, we will be providing you with school counseling updates for March. Please check out each button for important resources to share with our students and to explore various opportunities for professional development.
Here are a few questions/discussions that have been brought to our attention:
Q: I'm new. Do we have a school counselor handbook or guide for me to reference?
We have one, but it is a bit outdated. Here is our OUSD School Counselors' Handbook that we update regularly. We would also like to meet more often with the lead counselors next school year so that we can update the former handbook for all of you. We are also creating a secondary curriculum guide for student placement so that we can continue to advocate for open access to rigorous coursework for all students.
Q: I'm so tired of virtual meetings. Are we going to move toward having in-person meetings soon?
A: Yes! Provided we are able to maintain all safety precautions, our goal is to have the majority of our district wide counseling meetings in person for the 2022-23 school year.
Q: Are we continuing to implement ASCA next school year? We have been wanting to discuss RAMPing this school year, but time seems to have gotten away from us.
A: Yes! The ASCA framework and the California School Counseling Standards (CASC) provide the foundation that guides the work of school counselors. The district will continue to support this initiative as we move into the 2022-23 school year. If your team is interested in having additional support for ASCA Implementation at your school site, please contact Katie Treat. The OUSD Curriculum Department will pay the application fee for all schools who are choosing to apply for RAMP in the fall.
Q: I heard that the PD on evaluating transcripts was really helpful. Do you still have the slides?
A: Yes! Here are the slides for the PD that we had on best practices for Transcript Evaluation Training. Here is the Transcript Evaluation Form that is attached to each transcript and is placed in the cumulative file for new students who are transferring to our district.
Q: Are school counselors going to be paid again to work over the summer on A-G overrides?
A: Yes! Please have your AP of Curriculum email Katie Treat with at least one school counselor per high school who is working on the overrides. We will pay 16 hours per high school. The recommendation is that the school counselors come in after senior grades have been posted. We will be sending out dates soon for this.
Q: Will the curriculum office pay for school counselors to attend the UC Conference again in the fall?
A: Yes! The UC High School Counselor Conference will be Thursday, September 15, 2022. Please submit your conference request form to Kathy Peters, Curriculum Office prior to August 15th.
Q: I would like to have a school counseling intern next school year. How do I go about this?
A: A close-out survey will be sent to you regarding your school counseling team’s plans for next school year and any shifts in responsibilities that your team is making. Please let Katie Treat know if you are interested in being a school counseling intern supervisor for the 2022-23 school year. Supervisor Fieldwork training is being provided by CASC and will also be provided by the universities that the interns are attending. Here is the link to the CASC certification course.
Q: We would like to have a universal senior survey that all of the high schools use. Is this in the works?
A: Yes! Thank you to all of our lead counselors who sent us copies of their senior surveys. We have developed one universal senior survey that we would like all of the high schools to administer. This will be sent to site administrators and to the lead counselors soon.
Q: Are we continuing with the Signs of Suicide (SOS) curriculum at the middle schools?
A: Yes! We are so thankful to Cerro Villa Middle School for piloting the SOS curriculum this school year. We will be implementing SOS at Yorba and at Portola so that all three of our comprehensive middle schools will be including this curriculum for students.
Q: I am still needing some guidance on how to conduct a risk assessment. Can anyone from the district assist me?
A: Yes! Kristine Nelson, Katie Treat and Dr. Lupe Perales can facilitate an in-person training for each high school and middle school team. Please email Katie Treat to schedule this.
Q: We really need additional guidance for when a student is requesting to change their name and/or gender. Can we be provided with additional training on this?
A: Yes. We are working on a plan to address this. The introductory PD was provided last month.
Q: Are we continuing with Xello next school year?
A: Yes. We will be continuing with administering at least one Xello lesson per grade level per semester next school year. Please plan ahead of time by including these lessons as part of your Counseling Calendar of Events for the school year. We also encourage you to incorporate additional career exploration resources including CCGI, My Next Move, California Career Zone, and O*Net as you see fit. We will also be discussing the idea of an optional Xello Future Readiness digital portfolio.
Q: My P21 told me about the upcoming CTE Advisory meetings. I want to learn a bit more about specific industries. Are counselors allowed to attend?
A: Yes! The more the merrier. Attending our CTE Sector Advisory meetings is a wonderful way to expand your knowledge about industry trends and specific CTE pathways that are available to students. This in turn will enhance your counseling discussions with students! Our CTE Sector Advisory meetings are on Friday, March 4th and Friday, March 11th from 3:45-5pm. Here are the meeting links: OUSD CTE Sector Advisory Meetings.
Q: If a student earns a D, are we required to have them remediate this course?
A: Although not required, it is always a best practice to discuss with students available credit recovery options for Ds or Fs earned so that they can work toward earning their high school diploma and/or have the potential to be A-G eligible.
Q: I have a student who really should be taking a higher level math class. What options does the student have to accelerate?
A: A few different factors come into the conversation when we are allowing students to accelerate their math sequence. The first question always has to do with the timing of when the acceleration occurs and whether or not the student is meeting the specific standards in the prerequisite math course. We do not typically move a student up mid year. If the student would like to accelerate, we can provide them with options for summer acceleration at the community college when possible. Further, depending on the student's goals, we will not have them skip around if this move will be a detriment to meeting their A-G requirements or post-secondary plans. If your student is a transfer and needs specific courses for A-G eligibility, and is requesting to take APEX for original credit, please contact the Curriculum office.
Q: I have a few students who have taken the same level of ELD three times. Is this okay?
A: No. A student should not be repeating either level of ELD for longer than two years. Please contact Amber Tatch at the District office and/or your school's EL coordinator to discuss this as needed.
Q: We don't have a lot of semester elective options for students to choose from. Is it okay if the student is moved into a level 03 CTE course mid year?
A: No. Adding a student into a capstone CTE course mid year is not setting the student up for success. Our CTE Pathways are designed to be two to three years of courses and should be taken in sequence. Please refer to OUSD CTE Pathways.
Q: Does a student need to be in Math 2 in order to take Biology Honors?
A: No. A student can be concurrently enrolled in Math I or higher and Biology Honors.
Q: I have a few parents who want their students to take AP for all content areas for 10th grade. What should I tell them?
A: Please refer parents to the AP course guide that includes the prerequisites for the courses. We follow the prerequisite recommendations from Collegeboard.
Q: I moved from a different district. What are the options for Credit Recovery for OUSD students?
A: Once students have earned a D or an F in a class, they may repeat the courses in the following ways:
APEX-remediating D or F in core courses. If a student is wanting to take courses for original credit, these opportunities will be considered on a case by case basis and must go through the Curriculum office.
Summer school classes- remediating Ds or Fs
SCC Petition Program- courses available through SCC
Adult school- credit options for students who are 18 or over.
Classes should not typically be retaken in the actual school day as part of their six classes- the only exception is for courses for specific programs such as Band that are repeated annually. If a student prefers to repeat a class during their school day as an in-seat class to build their foundation, the registrar at the school will need to manually enter “R” for the repeat tag of the course so that the previous course is zeroed out in terms of earned credits.
Additional notes on course codes:
“R” grades- in collaboration with the school registrar, the school counselors will review the "repeat course list" each semester so that credits accurately appear on the students’ transcripts.
Default courses will be used on the transcript for students who are transferring into the Orange Unified School District with courses that do not match with our offered courses.
E classes are non A-G core courses for students who are in Special Education. Enrollment in E courses is only for students with IEPs, as decided by the IEP team.
Q: I don't really know which SCC classes count for core content areas for graduation and college credit. Do we have a list for this?
A: Please collaborate with your OUSD Career Coaches on your campuses for assistance with this. You can also contact the Curriculum office with specific questions you may have.
Here are a few updates to keep in mind as we continue with registering students for courses:
High School Placement Reminders:
A student should not be in more than one period of a Teacher Assistant course.
As you are registering students for next school year's classes, please help us advertise Fire Service I and Fire Service II.
All 9th grade students must have Biology unless the IEP team has decided that they should have a different science course.
No 9th or 10th grade students should be enrolled in Earth Science.
Students needing Health credit- Foundations of Health Science, Med Core, and Career Focus Medical WILL NOT count for health credit (this shift was made at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year). New course codes can be found on this OUSD CTE Pathways (highlighted in yellow).
Here are the OUSD Alternative Education & Credit Recovery Options for you to reference as needed.
FAFSA/CADAA:
FAFSA Race to Submit with current percentages of FAFSA completion per school site-FAFSA Race to Submit Dashboard.
FAFSA Challenge- New Law for Foster Youth- new laws go into effect in 2022- all foster youth must have a FAFSA completed before they graduate.
We are here to support all of you through these busy and unpredictable times!
Warm Regards,
Lisa Green, Executive Director, Curriculum, Instruction, and School Support
Kristine Nelson, Coordinator, Student & Community Services
Lupe Perales, Coordinator, Special Education
Katie Treat, Coordinator, Career Counseling
MARCH REMINDERS FOR OUSD SCHOOL COUNSELING
Flyer for districtwide counseling meetings: OUSD District Wide Counseling Meeting Schedule
* please see your administration for the dates of your Orenda Guidance alignment sessions
The 2021-22 Race to Submit is a statewide campaign that aims to increase the number of financial aid applications for California high school seniors who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application. Filling out these financial aid applications is the first step towards college success and helps students qualify for federal and state aid to help pay for college.
The goal of this initiative is to increase financial aid application completions, using a network of support. During the application period, beginning October 1, and up until the March 2 Cal Grant deadline, each high school, district, and county can use the Race to Submit Dashboard to gauge the submission and completion of the FAFSA and CADAA, along with how many Cal Grants have been awarded to their students.
Summer Opportunities for High School Students
Summer Youth Programs | UCI (2021)
MITES | MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs
COSMOS Home | Jacobs School of Engineering (ucsd.edu)
COSMOS UC Irvine – California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science
Future Ready College Application Campaign
Future Ready College Application Campaign- Implementation Workshops are available on Wednesday, April 6 and Tuesday, April 26.
Here is the registration information for this free training:
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
9:00 -11:00 am or 1:00-3:00 pm
Registration
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
9:00 -11:00 am or 1:00-3:00 pm
Registration
Opioid-Related Deaths Among Minors
This two-day hybrid conference will focus on building wellness, support, and resilience for our youth and community.
The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) is a federally funded program designed to assist migrant students to successfully complete their first year at Santiago Canyon College. CAMP supports students through a variety of programs and services, and equips students with the skills and tools necessary to attain their educational goals. Benefits and Services include: personal career and academic counseling, financial assistance, priority registration, book voucher, school supplies, laptop loan program, peer mentoring, tutoring, academic and self-development workshops, Summer Bridge Program, and Seminars and workshops for CAMP parents.
Requirements for the program include:
- 1. Be a migrant or seasonal farm worker*; or a dependent of a migrant or seasonal farm worker
- 2. Be a legal resident
- 3. Be a college freshman or have completed less than 24 college credits/units
*Migrant or Seasonal Farmworker: a person whose primary employment is in an agricultural activity** or farm work on a temporary or seasonal basis, employed for a minimum of 75 days in the past 2 years.
**Agricultural activity: employment related to the production of crops, livestock, dairy products, fish farms, poultry, and cultivation and/or harvesting of trees. Work that is performed for wages or personal livelihood on a ranch, farm, or similar businesses are eligible.
For questions or more information please visit: www.sccollege.edu/camp or call (714) 628-5035.
OCDE Student Advocates for Mental Health Program
The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) Student Advocates for Mental Health Program is currently accepting interest forms to participate in the Mental Health Awareness Activity opportunity! The deadline to submit an interest form is March 31, 2021. More information regarding this opportunity can be found below.
Free Resources Available for Mental Health Awareness Activities – Do you have a group of students who are interested in conducting a mental health awareness activity on your school campus? If you would like free training, supplies, resources, and support to create or promote an activity, look no further! The Student Advocates for Mental Health program can support you with all your mental health awareness activity needs. The in-person or virtual activity may align with National Campaigns such as Suicide Prevention Week, World Mental Health Day, Mental Health Awareness Month, or an original idea of your own. All Orange County public, private, and charter schools are eligible to apply. For more information, visit the SAMH website. Click here for the program flyer. Click here to complete the interest form. For questions, please contact Alicia Escobar at aescobar@ocde.us or 714-966-4416.
Please click on the link above for the RESET Toolbox
To help local students and families buffer the effects of the pandemic, the nonprofit Western Youth Services has partnered with Orange County Department of Education and CHOC to develop the RESET Toolbox.
The free, online mental health toolbox is packed with self-paced trainings, apps and resources designed to build resilience and minimize anxiety in children and teens.
These events are hosted in partnership with Chapman University.
Be in the Know!
Here is our updated OUSD School Counselors' Handbook for you to reference: OUSD School Counselors' Handbook
Dual Enrollment
SCC 2021-2022 catalog: https://sccollege.elumenapp.com/catalog/2021-2022Catalog/home#mainContent
SCC Dual Enrollment website (www.sccollege.edu/dualenrollment)
o Under the MORE INFO For HS Counselors & Administrators, SCC posted a new booklet created by OC Pathways – A Guide to UC Requirements and High School Dual Enrollment.
o Under the BENEFITS – Student Success Stories, SCC is featuring an OUSD student who participated in the SCC Dual Enrollment Program and is transferring to UCLA.
Shmoop Test Prep Suite: AP, SAT, ACT, PSAT, SBAC, CAASPP, and more!
- Study Tools
- Who has access: all students/teachers at
- Canyon High School
- El Modena High School
- Orange High School
- Villa Park High School
- EDGE Virtual Academy
Log in to Shmoop:
- Students and teachers will log in through their ClassLink Launchpad
- Please see THIS Shmoop Resource folder with Video Tutorials
Xello
Here is the OUSD Xello Counseling Curriculum Scope & Sequence that we created together.
Xello lessons will be facilitated twice per school year (once in the fall and once in the spring) for ALL OUSD high school and middle school students.
Xello Course Planner will be used to create, revise and enhance four-year plans for all high school students so that our students are making very informed decisions about their course selections and career exploration opportunities. We are NOT integrating the course request function in the Course Planner with Aeries this school year.
Counseling Communities on Social Media
Please reach out to us!
Kristine Nelson
Coordinator, Student & Community Services
Elementary School Counseling Program
Homeless, Foster & At-Risk Youth, 504s, SSTs, Crisis Intervention & Mental Health Support
(714) 628-5424
Lupe Perales, Psy.D.
Coordinator, Special Education
(714) 628-4080
Katie Treat
Coordinator, Career Counseling
Secondary School Counseling Program
College and Career Readiness
Career Technical Education (CTE)
(714) 628-5463