Senior Advisor at Grundy Center
In addition to teaching Spanish at Grundy Center, Adam advised the senior class with post-high school planning in the 2022-23 school year. Adam was responsible for helping students decide their many options after walking across the graduation stage. This came in the form of constantly meeting with his advisory group to ensure students had the resources needed to be successful post-graduation. With a strong team of teachers, Adam communicated with students and parents about the many pathways that were available. If students were weighing their options, Adam would always ask students what their ambitions were. He always went over student transcripts and presented over different themes such as FAFSA, jobs within the community, student learning centers within various college institutions, provided personal college experience examples, and highlighted diverse programs across Iowa, even studying abroad options. Adam did almost everything that an academic advisor would do for their students.
Working with Guidance Counselors/Building Leaders
At Grundy Center and Martensdale-St. Marys, Adam worked with guidance counselors to make sure the needs of students were being met. Once a week, Adam would touch base with guidance counselors or at-risk directors to get weekly temperature checks about certain events/student concerns. Not all teachers set time to do this. Adam made it a priority to talk weekly with building leaders about student concerns and post-secondary possibilities for students.
Scholarships and Goals
At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year at Grundy Center, senior advisors held a large meeting for the senior class. At the meeting, senior advisors like myself highlighted the importance of applying for scholarships. Not only this, but students were given a large timeline for certain scholarship deadlines. Staff encouraged students to pursue as many scholarship applications as possible that were available. Throughout the year, Adam worked with students to help them find scholarships, set academic goals, and help students buidl confidence. While some students did not have plans to attend a university after senior year, we dedicated time to allow them to contact local business owners to get an idea about the job market.
Reviewing Testing Scores/Grades with Students & Parents
At Grundy Center, I reviewed student grades/standardized test scores (ACT) with parents. Parents and students received a copy of their high school transcripts alongside ACT scores, if taken. We used their grades as data to ask questions which guided conversations. Parents and I recognized that grades didn't always reflect every aspect of their child, at the same time, we used grades and ACT scores a decent guiding factor for student passion/motivation.
Sometimes, students would not do as well in certain classes, and we made plans for students to improve within a hard class. Sometimes, I would reach out to other teachers and see if parents could pop in for a quick conference. Other times, the guidance counselor and I worked on certain cases together.
Getting Students & Families Help
Sometimes, a student or parent would let me know of something traumatic that was happening in their lives. Whenever this happened throughout the year, certain team members and I would come up with ways to help make school a better place for the student. Without disclosing personal information, some cases required a task force to be built so accommodations could be met for students and families. Sometimes, I would reach out to the guidance counselor, at-risk director, special education teacher, principal, or an assigned AEA member. No matter what problem occurred in the lives of students and families, we were there to help them.
Student Counseling
At both school districts, I had students find time with me after school to focus on academic/informal counseling. My job was to simply lend my ears and be a listener to students. Some students would share a little, while some explained deeper problems. I always knew that I was not alone in the building and had a dedicated team to help out. No matter what the problem was, I always had my door open so students could feel welcomed and understood. Allowing to open my door to students created a trustworthy and emathetic environmnet.