High School 101

As an integral part of the education system, MCMS counselors use the Texas Model to implement our school counseling program and provide direct services for all students and specialized assistance to students who need it. Out of the four comprehensive school counseling programs, we used individual planning to deliver a guidance lesson about high school graduation plans and requirements. Based on the data obtained from our campus-based high school pre-assessment, the lesson was designed to teach, assist, and equip our 8th grade students with the knowledge and skills they will need to learn about high credits, state testing requirements, select a high school endorsement based on their career interest, and create a four year graduation plan that will identify their course selections. In developing this lesson, we used samples of high school transcripts to provide visual and a realistic approach to understanding the importance of earning high credits by maintaining passing grades and how high school credits are listed on an official or unofficial high school transcript. The lesson also covered high school terms, information presented in a PowerPoint, student interaction, the selection of a high school endorsement, and post-assessment. Equally important, we made this lesson available to the 8th grade parents because we recognize that parents are key components in the individual planning system and essential to our students’ successful educational and career plans.