OUR PROGRAM

The School Guidance & School Counseling Program at Metuchen High School emphasizes the development of personalized student learning plans by creating opportunities for students to explore and deepen college and career knowledge and skills necessary for academic planning and goal setting. The school counselor assists students in creating college and career pathways to promote full implementation of personal goals.

Guidance and counseling are intended to assist individuals in the understanding of self, in making choices that are individually satisfying and socially effective, and in trying out these choices in real life situations. Our program focuses on the following areas:

1) Developing initiative, responsibility, and self-direction

2) Recognizing, understanding, and solving problems

3) Developing the ability to choose goals and to make decisions wisely

4) Exploring the students’ feelings and capabilities for increased awareness

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Metuchen Comprehensive Guidance & School Counseling Program is to support students in navigating every aspect of their academic and personal lives, empowering each to make responsible decisions, learn to self-regulate, set SMART goals and develop a personalized plan for higher education and career pursuits. Using a student-centered approach, our school counselors endeavor to:

• Promote habits of success, such as resiliency, tenacity and perseverance of effort to overcome obstacles in pursuing short and long-term goals.

• Collaborate with faculty, parents and other stakeholders to maximize the potential of each learner

• Maintain high expectations by providing adequate supports and conveying the conviction that all students can succeed in college or career training.

• Build a college-going culture based on early college awareness by nurturing in students the confidence to aspire to college and the resilience to overcome challenges along the way.

• Provide early and ongoing exposure to information necessary to make informed decisions when planning for a college or career that connects to academic preparation and future aspirations.

• Proactively engage students in the development of a greater awareness of personal interest, skills, aptitudes and values as part of their journey toward developing post-secondary plans

BELIEF STATEMENTS

• Student’s come first in the school counseling program.

• All students, regardless of their diverse learning abilities, can learn and achieve to their maximum potential.

• A comprehensive guidance and school counseling program promotes academic, career and personal/social development for every student.

• A comprehensive guidance and school counseling program is achieved through collaborative partnerships among counselors, administrators, teachers, child study team members, students, families and community members.

• All students deserve a safe, secure and positive environment where mutual respect and individual responsibility are practiced and learned.

• Every member of our community has value in the education of our students.

PROGRAM GOALS

• To ensure that every student receives access to the school counseling program by designing content curriculum for every student

• To monitor data to facilitate student achievement

• To promote an appropriately rigorous academic curriculum for every student

• To ensure equitable access to educational opportunities and resources

• To support the development of skills to increase student success:

• To provide parents/guardians support to advocate for their children’s academic, career and personal/social development

• To become familiar with each student, developing a thorough understanding of his or her unique abilities, family history, and pertinent circumstances in an effort to provide appropriate support, advice, and advocacy.