Ways High School Guidance Counselors Can Use Sites
Ways High School Guidance Counselors Can Use Sites
List of ways a High School Guidance Counselor can use Sites
Carol LaRow, Google Certified Trainer
1. The "Case Management" Hub (The Private Internal Site)
"Specific People" sharing feature.
The Concept: A site that is shared ONLY with a specific list of people (principal, social worker, school psychologist, and the specific teachers for a high-needs student).
The Feature: If it’s a Google Workspace Plus account (higher tier account), a guidance counselor can create a site and, under "Share with others," add only the individual emails of the "Need to Know" staff.
Why it’s better than email: Instead of digging through 50 emails about "Student A," all intervention strategies, meeting notes (embedded Google Docs), and resource links are in one secure, “live” spot.
2. The "College & Career" Launchpad (Student-Facing)
Target: All Seniors or Juniors.
Content: Embedded Google Folders containing scholarship applications, a "Countdown to Graduation" calendar, and links to “Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” FAFSA. (Note: A guidance counselor might include a warning to parents/guardians and students about sites that try to charge a fee. Example: https://www.google.com/search?q=FAFSA.com or other sites that try to charge a fee to file the form. The official government site is: www. studentaid.gov
Benefit: A guidance counselor can update one Google Doc with new scholarships, and it automatically updates on the Site for every student/parent/guardian to see.
3. The "Parent Portal" for Transitions (Parent/Guardian-Facing)
Target: Incoming 9th-grade parents/guardians.
Content: Videos of "How to read a high school transcript," FAQ sections using Collapsible Groups, and an embedded Google Form for parents to request a meeting.
Benefit: It reduces the "Where do I find...?" phone calls by 80%.
4. Interactive "Digital Junior/Senior Meetings"
The Concept: Instead of a paper packet, the guidance counselor gives students a link to a Google Site the counselor has made. The links supplied to the students go to specific subpages of the Google Site.
Content: A page for Self-Care & Mental Health (links to mindfulness apps, school counseling request forms).
A page for Career Inventories (links to Naviance or similar tools for college and career planning).
The "Specific Sharing" twist: A counselor can create a subpage for "Student Athletes" and share that specific page's information via the "hidden from navigation" trick. (Hide pages from navigation, but give the page links to those who you want to view those pages).
Points:
🔒 Granular Privacy: "You can build a resource for the whole district, OR a private 'Case Hub' for just you and the principal. You control who can see the Sites pages.
📁 Live Document Embedding: "No need to keep sending updated PDFs. Embed a Google Doc of 'Current Scholarships.' When you type a new one in the Doc, it appears on the website instantly."
📱 Accessibility: "Parents/guardians can access your 'Financial Aid 101' page from their phones while sitting in the parking lot. Google Sites auto-formats for them."
Note: Fundamentals Workspace accounts (Standard Education) or Individual accounts, will not have the "pre-made" district groups that districts with “higher level” tiers of Google Workspace have, but the guidance counselor still has full control. Here is exactly how you can manage that "private hub" manually.
If you need to share a site with a specific group of people (like a "Case Study Team" or a "Crisis Response Group") and you don't have pre-set district groups, follow these steps:
Step 1: The "Invite-Only" Setup
1. Open your site in the Editor.
2. Click the "Share with others" icon (the person with the plus sign) at the top.
3. Under General Access, ensure both "Draft" and "Published Site" are set to Restricted.
o This is the most important step! It ensures that even if someone finds the link, they cannot get in without your permission.
Step 2: Adding the Team
· In the "Add people and groups" box at the top, type the email addresses of the specific individuals (Principal, Teacher, etc.).
· Assign Roles:
o Set them as Editors if you want them to add notes or files.
o Set them as Published Viewers if you only want them to read the information.
· Check the "Notify people" box so they receive an email with the link.
· Add a message if you wish (helpful if they do not know, in advance, that you are adding them.
· Click Send.
Step 3: The "Contact Group" Shortcut (Pro-Tip)
If the Guidance Counselor has to share sites with the same 10 people frequently, he/she can save time by creating a Google Contact Label:
1. Go to Google Contacts.
2. Select the 10 people and click the Label icon (looks like a tag) to name them "Grade 10 Team."
3. Back in Google Sites, he/she can simply type "Grade 10 Team" in the sharing box, and it will populate all 10 emails at once!
4. Note: If names do not appear for you, it means they have not been added to “Contacts.” In a school district, the IT admin for Google Workspace needs to set this up.
5. In an individual account, you can do it yourself.
The difference between Sharing the Editor vs. Sharing the Published Site:
· Sharing for Collaboration: Adding them at the top (as described above) is for people who are "on the team."
· The "Secret" Published Site: If a counselor wants 20 parents to see a site, but not the whole world, he/she should add those 20 parents as "Published Viewers." This creates a "Private Website" that requires a login, keeping student-sensitive resources off the public web.
"Even on a basic account, you are the gatekeeper. You can revoke access at any time. If a student moves or a team change occurs, just click the 'X' next to a person's name in the Share window, and their access to that sensitive data vanishes instantly."
"Privacy Checklist" It could be a 3-step check a counselor does before adding any sensitive student data to a page. For a Guidance Counselor, privacy isn't just a "feature"—it's a legal and ethical requirement (FERPA). Having a checklist gives counselors the "peace of mind" to use the tool confidently.
Privacy & Security Checklist
Use this 3-step check before adding any student-sensitive information to your Site.
1. Verify the "Sharing" (Sharing Settings)
· [ ] Click the Share icon (Person+).
· [ ] Is General Access set to Restricted?
· If it says "Public" or your "District Name," anyone with the link can see it. "Restricted" is the only setting for confidential case work.
2. Audit the "Guest List" (People with Access)
· [ ] Look at the list of names under "People with access."
· [ ] Does everyone on this list have a legal "Need to Know" regarding this student?
· [ ] Are there any "Individual" (Gmail.com) accounts listed? (Best practice: Only share with District-managed accounts to keep data inside the school’s security wall.)
3. Scrub the "Evidence" (Embedded Content)
· [ ] Check your Google Drive Permissions: If you embed a Google Doc or Sheet on the page, remember that the Site permissions and the Doc permissions are separate.
· If you add a person to the Site, Google will usually ask if you want to share the embedded files with them too. Always say Yes to ensure they can actually see the content (if you want those people to also see a new doc or file you’re adding!
· [ ] Check for Identifying Info: If the site is for a "Group" (like a Grief Support or Social Skills group), ensure student last names or ID numbers aren't used in page titles or headers.
"The Emergency Stop Button" If you ever realize a site was shared incorrectly, don't panic. Simply click the Share icon and change the General Access to Restricted and remove the names. Access is cut off the second you hit 'Save.' Unlike a sent email, a website can be 'called back' instantly."
Unlike a paper folder or a cluttered email chain, a Google Site acts as a Secure Digital Hub. You can organize resources for parents/guardians, track student progress with a team, or build a college-prep library—all in one place that updates in real-time.
1. The Secure "Case Hub" (Internal Only): Create a private site shared only with a specific student’s "Care Team" (principal, psychologist, teachers). Embed meeting notes, intervention plans, and behavior logs.
2. The College & Career Launchpad (Student-Facing): A one-stop shop for Seniors. Embed a "Live" Google Doc of scholarships. As you add a new scholarship to your Doc, it appears on the site automatically.
3. The Parent Portal (Community-Facing): A site for transition info (e.g., "Rising 9th Graders"). Use Collapsible Groups to create an easy-to-read FAQ section for parents.
Because you handle sensitive student data, security is your top priority. Follow these three steps before adding names or files:
· [ ] General Access: Click the Share icon. Ensure "Published Site" is set to Restricted. This means only people you manually invite can see it.
· [ ] Check the Guest List: Ensure you are only sharing with school district emails (e.g., @district.org). Avoid sharing with personal @gmail.com accounts.
· [ ] The "Need to Know" Rule: Only add people as Editors if they need to type on the site. If they only need to read information, set them to Published Viewer.
· The "Eye" Icon (Preview): Before you publish, click the Eye icon to see how the site looks on a phone versus a computer.
· Google Drive Integration: Don't re-type your lists! Click Insert > Drive to embed your existing spreadsheets or docs directly onto the page.
· If you ever realize a site was shared incorrectly, you can "un-publish" it or remove a person's access instantly. Unlike an email that is sent forever, a Google Site is a live environment that you control 24/7.
· "Granular Sharing" (Invite just one person).
· "Hidden Pages" (Keep a page active but invisible on the menu).