PHOTO/ George Yin Counselor Monique Mondragon assists sophomore Diego Santamaria in changing his schedule on Aug. 29. Santamaria attempted to change his history class, but there were no empty spaces available
By Kimberly Chen,
Staff Writer
Former TCHS counselor Maria Ioele decided to relocate to the Adult Transition school, Dr. Doug Sears Learning Center and Virtual Academy as a counselor. Ioele worked at TCHS for almost 20 years. She now works with grades K-12 and more students with special needs.
Ioele keeps in contact with the remaining TCHS counselors because students from the high school, Adult Transition School, Virtual Academy and DDLSC frequently transfer to and from the sites. Students can check Aeries to see their assigned counselor in relation to Ioele’s transfer.
After Ioele’s relocation, our remaining five counselors took on additional responsibilities and students. While counselors do have to take on more students due to their coworker’s relocation, their duties to students remain the same.
The counselor to student last name listings are as followed: Debbie Singh: A, B, C, Y; Kristen Castro: D, F, G, H, Wo; Nate Slaymaker: I, J, L, Z; Monique Mondragon: E, K, M, N, O, P, Q, Wu, X; Raul Acevedo: R, S, T, U, V, Wa, Wi.
“I want to make sure that all of the students’ first class choices are a possibility,” Castro said. “Despite schedule changes not being an easy process, we try to work together with students to find the most effective solution and explain why their schedules couldn’t be as they imagined.”
Without Ioele, counselors have more students to attend to. A counselor’s goal is to arrange classes without conflicts between student schedules. If that isn’t possible, they replace their first choice with an alternative class. Limited slots and clashing class periods can prevent students from receiving any of their desired classes despite their requests.
“It’s kind of annoying to get our schedules changed because it feels like they are changing our experience in high school,” sophomore Ariel Thio said. “We might be taking classes that we don’t even like or want, but have to because that’s all that’s left. Now your schedule has no space for the classes you actually want when it’s time to change them.”
The school is currently in the process of hiring a sixth counselor as of Sept. 20. She was already interviewed, selected and in agreement to work at TCHS. She is currently going through the clearance process and awaits approval from the board.
During construction, counselors temporarily relocated to Rooms 306 and 307. Counselors began moving back to their office, Room 303, on the week of Sept. 19. Construction provided them with two new office areas and a redone floor. The hallway that opened on Sept. 15 stored construction equipment and counselors stored the majority of their furniture in the Media Center. Initially, their temporary rooms housed the Special Education students who later relocated due to the small room size and to join classrooms in their subject wing.
Students can speak with a counselor to create a future plan, then approach the College and Career Center to receive resources that allow them to follow through with the goals they set. College representative visits, workshops and other C&CC resources give students the materials they need to create their life plan beyond high school.
Counselors continue to create plans with students about topics like potential college options, streamlining their high school career, volunteer opportunities and their emotional well-being. Counselors help guide students by cultivating their interests, informing them and their parents/guardians about procedures they could follow and aiding them in choosing their final plan for their future. All counselors encourage walk-ins for any assistance