The Guidance Department is probably one of the most criticized departments at St. James and tends to get a "bad rap," when in reality the counselors are here to serve.
Students will often hear complaints like, "They messed up my schedule," or "They put me with this teacher I hate." What students need to consider is this: There are about 1,400 students attending St. James, and each counselor is responsible for 350-400 of them.
That means each individual counselor has about 400 schedules to set. They have 400 students to keep on track for their individual career paths and 400 kids they have to try to convince to take the ACT or SAT.
Often students complain about not being able to switch a class because of a teacher, but Mr. Baxter has an interesting perspective on why that policy is in place.
"The way I see it is: if I have a goal I'm not going to let anyone get in the way of that," said Mr. Baxter.
In addition to their numerous responsibilities, the guidance department tries to be there for students going through emotional problems. Students go to them with personal conflicts, problems at home and a myriad of other issues.
Mrs. Guthrie said, "I am here for my kids. Whether it is a break-up bad day or you need a transcript sent to a college, come see your counselor."
The simple fact of it is this: school is filled with little things we have to do and it can be stressful. We cannot blame the people handling literally 400 times what we are because we are stressed out.
Mrs. Guthrie said, "The best thing is just to communicate. Come in to guidance, my door is always open, [but] there may be a line there."
When communicating with your counselor persistence is vital because no one in the St. James family is an only child. Students must be willing to wait for attention, but that doesn’t mean their guidance counselor does not have their absolute best interests at heart.
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