AHS/DNG Counselor's Corner

WOAH!

It is already August, and the start of school is so close!

We have some exciting changes and new faces to share with you this year.

We want to welcome Maggie Alexander, from AMS, who will now be serving 9-12th grade students! We also have a new Counseling Department Administrative Assistant, Chandler Kurth! These two ladies bring a wealth of knowledge and wonderful new ideas to our team. We know you will love getting to know and working with them both!

Our #1 goal, as always, is to be a support and resource for our Bearcats and their families. We are excited about the 24-25 school year and look forward to working with our former Bearcats and meeting all of our new Bearcat faces!

With all of the renovations taking place at AHS this summer, we were given the opportunity to create a truly wonderful space to serve our students! The entire AHS counseling team will now be housed in the Daniel Building on the AHS campus. Having all 5 counselors together gives us a great opportunity to further build our counseling program, and have a dedicated, calming, inviting space to serve our students and teachers. Working with our admin team, we have moved into the main office area in the Daniel building where each counselor has an office, team meeting space, small group counseling space, and a dedicated calm room for students!

While we know this is a change from the norm, we ensure that your students will still have full access to the counseling department at all times! As Aledo continues to grow, we want to grow our department with the student population and continue to think of creative and innovative ways to serve students.

We will still be visible and active in the main AHS building as well. Each counselor will office out of the main AHS building 1 day per week, and will also be available at 1 lunch period 3 other days during the week. Students can request to see us, as they have previously, and we will work with them wherever they are!

The Bound for Success College and Career Coach and our Intervention Counseling team will be housed in the main AHS building, but will also serve students in the Daniel Building.

Counselors are also teaming up with an administrator partner so that all students in each alphabet are served by the same AP/Counselor partner regardless of grade level.

We are so excited to have the opportunity to make needed changes and improvements to our counseling program and are grateful for our campus and district administrative staff for working with us as we work to best serve all Bearcats!

2024-25 student schedules will be released in August before the first day of school. Mr. Martinak, our Principal, and the AISD district communication team will release those dates as soon as they are available.

We will also host a New Student Orientation night and schedule walk. Look for communication from our Principal, Mr. Martinak, about this fun event happening August 12th!

A few things to note:

• Early release periods were granted only to students who met the previously communicated CCMR requirement and passed all STAAR EOC exams.

• Seniors may see College Prep Math or College Prep English on your schedules. These courses were discussed in the Spring. The College Prep courses are to help you meet the standard on the TSI exam, and/or earn your CCMR indicator. They may not be year-long classes. As you complete the requirements, you may be able to request a release period following the schedule change rules/timelines.

• During the course selection process in the spring semester of last year, students had the opportunity to add/drop courses they’ve selected. As shared in all presentations, communication and printed in our AISD Academic Planning Guide, the last day to make changes to any selected courses, including Pre-AP and AP courses, was the last day of school prior to summer. At this time, the only changes that will be made to student schedules are those to address errors including:

• Program change- Student has been placed in or is no longer enrolled in a specific extra-curricular activity (choir, band, athletics, etc.--this does not include CTE electives)

• Prerequisite not met- student does not have the required prerequisite for a course they are enrolled in.

• Missing an academic class- student is missing a core class ( English, Math, Science, Social Studies)

• Wrong Level- student requested AP and is enrolled in an on-level course

• Missing a graduation requirement- student is missing a class necessary to graduate this year or next (Health, LOTE, Endorsement, etc.)

Outside of the potential errors outlined above, no schedule changes will be made. No changes should be requested for teacher or lunch preference, and all schedule changes require administrative approval. Students requesting to change from an advanced academic course to an on-level version of the same course will be required to stay in the advanced course for the first grading period and must complete the advanced academic drop form for consideration. Based on administrator decision, the request may or may not be granted.

If you believe you have an error on your schedule and need to request a correction, please use this link. It will open when schedules are released. Until you hear from your counselor regarding your request, please follow your current schedule as it is in Ascender. This will help you avoid any absences.

Counselors will not be able to address schedule errors via email or respond to emails about schedule errors. The only changes that will be looked into must be requested via the form linked above. We do this in order to ensure every error is looked at and resolved in a timely manner.

We appreciate your support in following the outlined processes as we work to serve all Bearcats!

It is an exciting time of year! We look forward to working with all of our Bearcats and families, and will see you for the first day of school August 14!

Check out My Texas Future for more college and career planning information! It's a great site that also has direct admissions information for 25+ schools in Texas!

https://www.mytexasfuture.org/

This can be used from 7th grade and up!

Please use the resources linked here as you being this process. We are here to help you as you start the planning and applying process!

College Applications

• If you are applying to a Texas public school, you may use the Apply Texas application that can be found HERE.

• Most private schools will use the Common Application which can be found HERE.

• If the school you are applying to does not use the Apply Texas or the Common Application for their application process, please visit the college’s admissions page and you will most likely find a link on their website to apply.

To Request Your Transcript

• Please log into Major Clarity Account from your Aledo LaunchPad. We have attached a video on how to request a transcript and letter of recommendation HERE.

• Please submit your college application before you request a transcript to be sent out on your behalf.

• If you are using the Common Application to apply, we have attached a video HERE on how to connect your Common App account to Major Clarity. We have also attached a video HERE on how to invite your teacher to become an evaluator for your Common App.

College and Career Resources

Please visit the Aledo High School College and Career Readiness site HERE for helpful post-secondary information.

The AHS College and Career Readiness website is a great resource for students and families who are taking the steps for post-secondary planning!

Check it out HERE!

Major Clarity is a great resource and is also where you will request transcripts and letters of recommendation.

Major Clarity Resources

• Career Exploration
• Post-Secondary Exploration
• Portfolio
• Transcripts and Letters of Recommendation (12th grade only)
• Connecting Your Common Application (12th grade only)
• Common Application Evaluator (12th grade only)

Want to visit a college, but can’t make it in person? Check out these virtual tour options!

https://campustours.com/

https://www.thecollegetour.com/tour-colleges/

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/virtual-tours

Follow us on Instagram and X (twitter) and like our Facebook page (Aledo High School Counseling Department) for all things AHS Counseling and even some Bearcat fun! We will share upcoming dates, important information, and show you a look at AHS/DNG through our eyes.

Lindsay Fuller, Lead Counselor Grades 9-12 Last Names A-B lfuller@aledoisd.org

Maggie Alexander, Counselor Grades 9-12 Last Names C-Go malexander@aledoisd.org

Mandy Fernihough, Counselor Grades 9-12 Last Names Gr-Ma mfernihough@aledoisd.org

Annie Walker, Counselor Grades 9-12 Last Names Mc-R awalker@aledoisd.org

Tricia Hackfeld, Counselor Grades 9-12 Last Names S-Z thackfeld@aledoisd.org

Email: AHScounselors@aledoisd.org
Website: https://www.aledoisd.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=8138
Location: 1000 Bailey Ranch Road, Aledo, TX, USA
Phone: 817-441-8711
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063129766467&mibextid=2JQ9oc
Twitter: @AledoHSCouns