In the movies, High School guidance counselors spend a lot of time sitting behind the desk.  In reality, they rarely sit at all. 

 

In fact, the Bridgeport High School counselors have been hard at work helping students with the transitions that are inevitable as they progress from middle school through college.  Jane Byrd, junior and senior counselor, and Kristina Robinson, freshman and sophomore counselor, have expanded their duties to include stress reduction, preparation for changes in high school and small groups for personal growth and belonging.

 

In this age of technology, it is no surprise that more and more students find themselves facing a lot a stress without a lot of human contact to provide empathy.  Byrd has been rotating through the junior homeroom classes to discuss ways to handle some of that stress. 

 

“Students are stressed about grades, family life, college, relationships, and just about everything in between.  They deal with non-stop stimuli while juggling sports, school, volunteering, jobs, and homework,” said Byrd. 

 

In her “Don’t Stress, Decompress” series, she explores what the main stresses are of students and gives them the tools to handle the stress. 

 

WVU Intern Alaina Tetrick assists Byrd in implementing the program.  As a result of the program, BHS will now be offering small group support programs that focus on relationships, college preparation, career exploration, test anxiety, and dealing with loss. 

 

“We hope that the students will feel less alone and will utilize some of the resources in the community and school to help combat some of these issues,” Byrd said.

 

Counselor Kristina Robinson is starting even earlier with easing some of the anxiety of the middle school to high school transition.  Although eighth graders have a few  more months before making the transition, Robinson has already started to prepare them for the process. 

 

“The (Bridgeport Middle School) and BHS counselors collaborated to create informal sessions on the transition process,” said Robinson.  “BMS counselor Mary Shields invited us over to speak with the eighth graders about the next step in their educational paths.  We review block scheduling, earning credits, how to calculate grade point average and understanding the academic transcript."

 

The high school counselors are also creating a connection between students and the faculty as they celebrated College Application and Exploration Week. The week featured interactive trivia about college experiences of the staff and assisted students in the college application process. Staff and students displayed their favorite college colors on Wednesday and students were given guidelines on college exploration and the application process. 

 

“The goal is to make students aware of the opportunities for post-secondary education and to encourage them to apply early in order to make the process seamless,” said Byrd.