"We are no longer 'guidance counselors' only focused on graduation and course selection for students. We are professional school counselors who focus on the academic, personal/social AND career development of ALL students."
Christie Piascik joined Southern Lehigh in 2016. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Lehigh University; as well as her M. Ed. Secondary School Counseling degree. She has previous experience as the High School Counselor at Garnet Valley School District for 4 years (2011-2015). She was also a Middle School counselor at Wallingford-Swarthmore School District for 1 year (2015-2016).
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7555
Email: piascikc@slsd.org
Samantha Trachtman joined Southern Lehigh in 2021. She received her B.S. in Psychology from DeSales University. She completed her graduate work at West Chester University where she received her M.Ed. in School Counseling. She has previous experience as the High School Counselor at Saucon Valley High School for 6 years (2015-2021).
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7557
Email: trachtmans@slsd.org
Tamme Westbrooks joined Southern Lehigh in 2002. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Lycoming College. She completed her graduate work at Millersville University were she received her M. Ed. in Secondary School Counseling. Tamme oversees Keystone and SAT/PSAT testing.
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7556
Email: westbrookst@slsd.org
Ms. Stepanczuk is both a Licensed Professional Counselor and K-12 Certified School Counselor having a Master’s Degree in Counseling and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. For the past year, Ms. Stepanczuk has worked at SLHS in the roles of school counselor intern and currently as a long-term substitute school counselor for students A-G. Prior to earning her school counseling certification, Ms. Stepanczuk spent the past 10 years as a professional counselor working directly with adolescents and young adults within a variety of community settings.
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7522
Email: stepanczukk@slsd.org
Cotie Strong joined Southern Lehigh in 2005. He received his B.A. in Psychology and minor in Education from from Bucknell University. He completed his graduate work at Lehigh University were he received his M. Ed. in Human Development and Ed. S. in school psychology. While he works full time at the high school, he does have experience working at the middle school level. Outside of the classroom, Cotie works with our student-athletes as the head track and field coach for Southern Lehigh.
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7558
Email: strongc@slsd.org
Counseling secretaries help with a variety of tasks. However, please contact me if you have specific questions about:
Student registration/enrollment
Sapphire
Keystone Exams
Record Requests (from other school districts)
Naviance
Transcript Requests (alumni)
Education Verifications
Advanced Placement Exams
Scheduling College Visits
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7552
Email: davism@slsd.org
Counseling secretaries help with a variety of tasks. Please contact me if you have specific questions.
Phone: 610.282.1421 ext. 7551
Email: lentzt@slsd.org
How does a student see their counselor?
Most appointments are either made by the students themselves stopping into the counseling office and making an appointment through one of the secretaries, or the counselors scheduling them and sending out a pass to the student's homeroom teacher. They can also be made by:
Self-referral / visiting the counseling office
Appointments made by counselor
Parent referral
Administrative referral
Teacher or other staff referral
Referral by friends
Students should also feel free to e-mail their counselor with general questions or concerns.
Students can now Request an Appointment online.
How and why do parents contact their student's counselor?
Phone Call
Student Achievement / advisement
Family difficulties, concerns, or health problems
New school registration
Discussing special needs of the child
Early discussion and identification of potential student crisis