Relationship-Based College Counseling

hello! I am Jessica Wenzel

“The kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving ways.”

What is Trauma? Trauma occurs when a child experiences an intense event that threatens or causes harm to his or her emotional and physical well- being. Abuse Accidents Financial Instability Crime/Violence Natural Disasters Witness

How Do We See Symptoms of Trauma in Teens? Traumatic reactions can include a variety of responses, including: intense and ongoing emotional upset depressive symptoms Anxiety behavioral changes difficulties with attention academic difficulties physical symptoms Iratibility Lack of trust Hypervigilance

How It Impacts College Counseling Counselor-student relationship Trust College essays- reflection on past Resources Follow Through

The Issue Is Much Larger Than Just Trauma Low Income First Generation Opportunity Gap

Access To College Counseling Activity FOR ALL MY VISUAL LEARNERS

Let’s Test That Knowledge Kahoot!

So What Do We Do About It?

Major Social-Emotional Influences ReCap Importance of Relationships Trust Maturity Self-Sabotage Imposter Syndrome Resiliency

Cristo Rey Student Data Sample

Student Perspectives

Student Perspectives Reasons Why: It makes asking questions more comfortable and easier They can know if you are a student who needs more help then the usual and therefore they will provide more support towards you. They knew when I was struggling and helped me when I didn’t understand certain things and explain it into terms that I would understand. They get to know you and help you find ur needs. provides comfort They are the reason I was able to have hope in myself

Student Perspectives What Students Need: Tell me what to do to make it easier for me I am glad they kept spamming us through email about deadlines. Without those I don’t know where or how to do things. The College counseling team was constantly checking up on me making sure that I had everything completed correctly and in time. They also helped ny revising my applications and my writing passages. Follow up and pull me out of classes. They were always there to answer questions and guide us through the process Stay on top of me Be there for me, if I didn’t have the support and clearance from them, I don’t believe I would’ve applied anywhere. dedicate time in class for college apps Having patience with us and reminding us about deadlines. Let me come by whenever Getting one on one meetings with the counselor Helped me with every missing assignment and how to finish up the entire process for applying and when i got accepted. They were always willing to help and always checked up on us. Get lots of students together and work on apps Have specific sessions after school where the student can work one on one with counselor. Something they can do is just keep helping the students and reach out to them because sometimes they’ll be confused and don’t want to be annoying. Give more workshops after school and on the weekends. Time is always going to be your best friend when it comes to getting things done early and way before the deadlines. Continue to have patience In my opinion, I'd say have more one on one meetings with each student individually.

Changing Our Mindset Student 1: 3.0 GPA Student Male, 1st-gen, low-income During workshops, yells out that college is for nerds repeatedly to get attention. Talks back to male counselor during class Can be defiant and disrespectful when asked to stop talking or change seats

Changing Our Mindset Student 2: 2.4 GPA Student Male, 1st-gen, middle-income Consistently misses deadlines for HW assignments, contributing to C-average Forgets to follow through on college application tasks Unsure of career goals

Changing Our Mindset Student 3: 3.8 GPA Student Female, 1st-gen, low-income Does not ask for feedback on essays and turns things in without review Very private about application process

Changing Our Ways Initiative: Create office hours after school for college application assistance. Intent: Create accessibility for all students. Open door policy. Impact:

Changing Our Ways Initiative: Send out weekly email reminders for students with reminders Intent: Help students to remember important deadlines and ensure they are staying on track. Impact:

Changing Our Ways Initiative: Create a summer opportunity excel sheet and share with ALL students. Intent: Give access to ALL students to participate and apply for summer programs. Impact:

Cristo Rey Way Face time with lower classmen Workshops Summer Bridge Junior Magis Class Putting Students First Providing Student Stories or Actual Student Speakers Checking In with Low-Performing Students through Email and In Class Personally inviting students to events/workshops outside of class Pushing through a challenge WITH them Homework Assignments towards Grade (less effective)

Cristo Rey Way (Cont.) College and Career Readiness Class 2 times per week Assignments and Grade Scaffolding Applications with mini-deadlines Normalizing the Confusion Offering to Review Emails with Students Telling them emails will be confusing and long Graphic Organizers Researching Colleges (Paper Copy) FAFSA/Dream Application (Paper Copy) Activities List (Google Doc) UC Prompt Brainstorming (Google Doc) College List Meetings Fake Early Deadlines

Case Studies In groups of 3-4, work through the 3 student scenarios. What are some initiatives you would create to design your college counseling office with them in mind? What mindset changes would you need to make? How would you PERSONALLY work on building that relationship?

5 Action Steps What are five steps you can take to make your college counseling office a MORE relationship-based counseling office?

Questions