School Counseling @ AJW
Catherine Cooker
864-452-0504 ccooker@greenville.k12.sc.us
School Counseling Program Vision Statement
The mission of A.J. Whittenberg’s comprehensive school counseling program is to foster a culture of determination, self-awareness, and value for all people. The professional school counselor cultivates every student’s potential for success, reaches all students using an evidence-based curriculum, and collaborates with teachers, administrators, parents, and the community to advance students’ highest academic and personal achievement.
My name is Catherine Cooker. I have been a molecular biologist, a high school science teacher, a freelance copyeditor, and a business owner. Now I have what might be the best job on the planet: school counseling.
The vision for our school counseling program is that A.J. Whittenberg students demonstrate perseverance and respect for others and themselves as they focus on achieving their goals in career and life. Through classroom lessons, small groups, and one-on-one interactions, I long for all of our students to believe that the high expectations we set for them are possible, and to grow in personal agency to achieve even the most difficult goal.
I have a Master of Education/Educational Specialist degree from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Truman State University. I devour books (figuratively, not literally), I want to visit as many countries as I can, and I love to watch things grow. Things growing in my house currently include my three kids (my 14-year-old son is 6-foot-2), a small school of baby fish, the tomatoes and peppers in my garden, and a very old, very grumpy dog. He's growing sideways.