Counseling 21st Century Students for Optimal College and Career Readiness

Kathleen Costantini, MA, has over twenty-five years experience as a teacher, administrator and counselor in diverse, urban school settings. As the Social Studies chairperson at the Notre Dame School in Manhattan and at St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City, she was responsible for curriculum in grades 9 – 12 and implemented advanced placement and honors classes. In her capacity as chairperson of the Language Arts K – 12 Department at Marymount School in Manhattan, she coordinated the school-wide English and reading curriculum. Corine Fitzpatrick, PhD, has over 20 years of experience in K – 12 education includes work as a high school teacher, a guidance counselor, and a psychologist. At the Notre Dame School, a parochial school serving inner city families, she developed one of the first Teacher-Advisor systems found in schools at the time. Since 1998 she has been a full time professor in the School of Education at Manhattan College, in the Bronx borough of New York City, and is the Director of the graduate programs in counseling, including the school counselor program.

Part I: Understanding the Challenge. Counseling for College and Career Readiness: Bringing Pride and Direction Back to the Adolescent Dream of Success. School-College Collaborations: Why They Are Important to College and Career Readiness and to the Challenge. Addressing the Challenge: Overview of the Counseling Curriculum for Grades 9-12. Part II: Making the College and Career Advising Process Optimal: The Curriculum. The Move to High School: Making Transitioning to 9th Grade Successful. Using Technology in the College and Career Advising Process. Motivation and Testing: Learning about Standardized Testing and Using it to Get Motivated About the College Process (10th Grade). Advising Students in College Research (11th Grade). Empowering Students in their Essay Writing (11th-12th Grades). Assisting Students in Making the Final List of Colleges (12th Grade). Exploring Options in Higher Education Other than Four-Year College/University (12th Grade). Helping Seniors Make the Transition to College (12th Grade). Part III: The Counselor as Creator and Manager. Running a College Guidance Office. Writing the Secondary School Report. Working with Parents. Financial Aid and Merit-based Scholarships. Counseling Students with Learning Disabilities. Students with Special Talents. Gaining Admittance to the Military Academies.