Changes could make guidance more efficient

Typically, most high schools around the country have a guidance staff that assists students for academic and emotional reasons. Aside from schoolwork, students may have specific concerns that may need individual attention from a counselor.

As seniors approach the time of college planning and applying, the guidance staff is booked with appointments for them. This creates a buildup of students seeking the advice and help from only a small amount of staff members.

The Spotlight staff has come up with the following idea to possibly help the situation. It was agreed that we could divide the staff into sections for different situations in our guidance department.
For instance, one could be for college, one could be for classes and schedule changes, and one could be for handling personal issues or emotional breakdowns. One more counselor could also be added for miscellaneous issues.

One Spotlight member suggested that since guidance is closed sometimes, there should be a counselor that’s always there for emergencies. One student pointed out that there were more guidance staff five years ago than there are today, so there is precedent for adding another counselor.

The guidance staff are wonderful and very helpful as it is, but by making a few tweaks and an addition, the department could be an even better resource for students.