

Counselors Newsletter
Week of January 27, 2025
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Is winter affecting your students’ mental health?
Support: Mental Health and Winter
Winter can be especially challenging for students.. Here are some resources to help understand seasonal mood changes and protect mental health:
7th ANNUAL GREATER ATLANTA HBCU COLLEGE FAIR
The 2025 SMASH Residential Summer Programs application at Morehouse & Spelman College is now open!
SMASH Residential is a free, immersive, three-week program designed for high school students who want to explore computer science more deeply and gain skills for college success and the tech industry. This hybrid program includes two weeks of in-person learning at Morehouse & Spelman College, followed by one week of virtual sessions.
Key details:
- Who Can Apply: Current 10th and 11th graders with at least a 3.0 GPA, attending a public high school or private school via scholarship, and living within 100 miles of the AUC.
- Program Dates: July 5th - July 25th, 2025
- Focus: Computer science courses, design thinking, college readiness, career exploration, networking with STEM professionals, and a supportive community of peers.
- Application Link: https://www.smash.org/programs/#smash-residential
If you know a current Metro Atlanta HS student or you yourself have a passion for technology and can benefit from this unique experience, please share this transformative opportunity with them. Applications officially close on March 15th, 2025.
Thank you and I look forward to hosting Scholars from your region this next year!
Be Well,
Tariq Draine
Program Director | Southeast Region
SMASH Residential Summer Program Morehouse College
SMASH Residential is a free, immersive, three-week program
SMASH Residential Summer Program Spelman College
FAFSA 101 – Top 10 to-dos for financial aid
Now that the FAFSA has officially opened. (December 1), here’s what you need to know:
- Students and “contributors” must create a Student Aid Account to get an FSA ID before completing the form.
- “Contributor” is a new term being introduced on the 2024–25 FAFSA. A contributor refers to anyone who is required to provide their information and signature on the FAFSA, as well as consent and approval to have their federal tax information transferred directly into the form via direct data exchange with the IRS. A contributor may include the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adoptive parent, and/or the parent’s spouse (stepparent).
- Federal tax information will be used to determine the student’s eligibility for federal student aid.
- The FAFSA will offer a series of filtering questions that determine which parent of a dependent student will need to be a contributor. It will also identify if there’s another parent whose information must be included on the FAFSA. The information provided by the parent on the FAFSA will determine if a second parent or parent’s spouse will also be a required contributor.
Click the link for #5-10!
More Resources:
- For in-depth financial aid information, go to StudentAid.gov.
- Use the Federal Student Aid Estimator at https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/ to get an early estimate of what your federal student aid could be after submitting the new FAFSA.
Official Junior Family Small Group Counseling Conference
Starting in January, we will meet in groups of 2-5 families to work on your plans and next steps, as well as answer questions from the info video. Families will be virtual. Students may be in person or virtual.
Please go to the DHS SignUp online portal
to select a conference date that will work best for your family.
(Student Last name) Counselor Name - Click on the name of your counselor.
(A-De) Mrs. Kiana Wills
(Df-J) Dr. Ken Jackson
(K-Re) Dr. Jazzmon Parham
(Rf-Z) Ms. Shadiqa White
DVA Juniors- Please see the upcoming email from Dr. Kimberly Jones for DVA specific details.
If you do not have internet access, please call your child’s counselor.
Success Prep SAT Course
6 week SAT Prep courses starting Jan 25th & Apr 26th, 2025
Below are the details of the 6 week SAT Prep courses starting Jan 25th & Apr 26th, 2025.
Call us at 404-351-4955 if you have further questions.
Location: Decatur High School | 310 N McDonough St Decatur GA 30030
Class Option 1 : Jan 25 Feb 1, 8, 15, 22 Mar 1 | 2025 for SAT Test March 8th 2025
Class Option 2 : Apr 26 May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 | 2025 for SAT Test June 7th 2025
Schedule: Saturdays : 9 - 1 pm on each day (6 sessions | 4 hrs each)
Room: Inside New Library @ Decatur High School
Register Online for SAT Prep Class:
https://successprep.com/SAT-prep-atlanta-ga-decatur-high-school
Textbook you need to buy:
The Official Digital SAT Study Guide by The Collegeboard
Don't forget to register for the SAT Test! - http://sat.collegeboard.org/home
*Prep class fee is non-refundable after class starts, we do not offer partial refunds for class sessions a student misses. Any cancellation for refund of a prep class fee must occur 5 days before the start of that prep class, to allow for the seat to be offered to another student.
GAfutures
Don’t leave money on the table!
Calling all Seniors! It's not too late to create an account with GA Futures! Create a GA Futures account today through the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Visit https://www.gafutures.org/, create an account and follow the instructions closely. The Registrar will upload all juniors and seniors twice per year to the Georgia Student Finance Commission. This allows each student to be considered for the HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships which are available to all Georgia students and can be applied to any HOPE-eligible college or university. Once an account is created, students can track their HOPE-eligibility and plan for any extra expenses. When creating your GA Futures account, use a personal email. Your CSD email account will be deactivated upon graduation.
Parents, please give us your student's Social Security Number. The Georgia Student Finance Commission identifies students using their SSN. If we don't have it in our student information system, better known as Infinite Campus, they will be unable to match your student to transcripts we upload and be purged out of their system. Please email Mr. Ackley with a good contact number and he will call you to get your child's SSN and enter it into Infinite Campus. Please do not send it via email or voicemail.
This is non-negotiable and not a rule we make at DHS. We must comply with the state and this is how they prefer to identify thousands of Georgia students.
Please email Mr. Ackley at michael.ackley@csdecatur.net or your counselor if you have any questions or need help creating your account.
"FOR TRANSCRIPT REQUESTS"
Please remember to create an account at Parchment.com if you haven't already done so. Parchment is a one-stop-shop to request and send your transcript to many colleges and universities in the USA and abroad. When you create your account, please use a personal email account, not your CSD account. Once you graduate you will still be able to access any transcripts uploaded to Parchment if you have a personal email address on file with them. Your CSD email will be deactivated upon graduation. Please be aware that the turnaround time for fulfillment of transcript requests is three days, so get your request in well before any deadlines issued by the schools you are applying to. If you need help, please contact the Registrar's office at michael.ackley@csdecatur.net.
Click the logo for parchment.
Parents/Students: The vast majority of your application processes will NOT need a Parchment transcript request. If you are applying through the Common Application, The Common Black College Application, or a college/University that uses SENDedu or other similar document collection service; you will not need to request a transcript through Parchment because your counselor will automatically upload them for you. If you have questions about if you need to use Parchment or not, just send your counselor an email and ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please click on the appropriate link below to address your concern/need:
Certificate Of Enrollments (complete this form at least 1 week prior going to the DDS. Form expires 30 days after issuance)
Request for Google Password (email)
Work Permit Process (only needed for students ages < 15)
Order A Transcript (If you need a transcript mailed, please email micheal.ackley@csdecatur with student name as it appears in the portal, college/university name, college/university address)
Students when you graduate your DHS email account will be deactivated. Please use your personal email address so you will have access beyond high school.
There is NO Community Service Hour requirement to graduate from Decatur High School. The PTSA does however have a Community Service Recognition program. For information and requirements to get Community Service Recognition at your graduation ceremony, please view the information linked here.
College Admissions Accommodation Form (Consent Forms for College Admission Tests Accommodation Requests - If you have a 504 or IEP with testing accommodations, a consent form must be completed and turned in to your/your student's counselor in order for the school to request accommodations for the College Board (PSAT/AP/SAT) and ACT. Testing agencies take up to 8 weeks to process requests.)
Summer & PreCollege Programs Google Classroom - CLASS CODE: fkrkuep
Scholarships Google Classroom - CLASS CODE: 43xlcav
Previous Newsletters
AA Counseling Department
Email: rjones1@csdecatur.net
Website: https://www.csdecatur.net/dhs
Location: 310 North McDonough Street, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-370-4170