School Counseling Newsletter

Hello, from the student services department! Please take time to review the following important information. The student services department consists of six school counselors, a school psychologist, and two school social workers. Students would typically go to the school counselor first for any personal-social or academic concern, but our school social workers help students get connected to community resources and oversee attendance concerns. Students can reach out to your assigned counselor through Canvas, and parents can email the counselor if you have specific questions regarding your child. See below regarding transcripts and registrations.

Jamie Wolford: last names A-C, jamie.wolford@hcps.net

Lisa Poirier: last names D-Hi, lisa.poirier@hcps.net

Athena Dicus: last names Ho-Mi, athena.dicus@hcps.net

Allison Castellano: last names Mo-Sa, allison.castellano@hcps.net

Randi Litwak: last names Sc-Z, randi.litwak@hcps.net

Transcript Requests: kathleen.cachon@hcps.net

New Student Registrations: elizabeth.arellano@hcps.net

Lauren Moseley: College & Career Counselor. lauren.moseley@hcps.net

Sincerely,

Athena Dicus

Student Services Department Head

Counselors will soon publish their courses on Canvas. Students can check out the counselor Canvas courses that contain lots of good resources for students and parents. Students can learn more about colleges, dual enrollment, testing, and community service. When school starts, take the time to review the information at each icon on the dashboard.

The extended learning program (ELP) tutoring by Plant staff has begun! Students can simply show up to any of the tutoring sessions advertised on the flyer. If you have specific questions, then you can reach out to the teacher at firstname.lastname@hcps.net or by checking the directory here.

Counselors will be working on balancing classes and making corrections to 2nd semester schedules. Students can fill out a schedule concern form in the student services office (guidance) If there is an error on a student schedule.

THESE ARE SOME REASONS THAT ARE NOT CONSIDERED CORRECTIONS:

• LUNCH preference and preference for lunch to line up with virtual periods off
• TEACHER preference
• Electives changes (many are not available or do not fit the student's schedules)
• Preference for specific class periods
• Requesting closed classes
• Preference for more periods off for a job

Is there an error with a report card grade? You will need to email the teacher with questions. If there is an error, then the teacher will submit a grade change to the main office. The main office will process the request. Report cards are never reprinted/corrected, but you can get a transcript summary from Ms. Cachon in guidance in the fall to verify a grade correction. Counselors do not handle grade corrections.

Students can use the district "volunteer service log form" to keep a personal log of service hours or use the "paid work hours log form" to document work hours. Service hours can be officially submitted through Mobile Serve. Instructions were sent through canvas and can be found at the button below. Students can see a parent volunteer in room 101 for assistance with Mobile Serve.

Students can be eligible for one of the Florida Bright Futures Scholarships by earning a required GPA, test score and service/work hours. The Florida Academic Scholars award offers 100% tuition and requires higher test scores, 100 service/work hours and a 3.5 core GPA. The Medallion award offers 75% tuition and requires 75 service/work hours, 3.0 core GPA, and lower test scores. If students attend a junior/community college, then the medallion converts to 100%. Because we don't know where students will fall by senior year, we recommend they complete 25 hours each year. Help your student keep up or catch up with service hours this year. Read all about it here.

Florida Virtual School-FLVS Information

• Counselors periodically review FLVS requests that are submitted. Course approvals can take place within a few days. No need to contact the counselor, even though FLVS instructions say to do so.
  
• When a student chooses to have virtual periods, the student will sign up for virtual classes. Counselors do not register students for virtual classes. FLVS is a separate school, and parents would oversee registration, progress, completion of coursework, and grades.
• When virtual classes are complete, FLVS sends the grade directly to Plant to be added to the transcript. FLVS classes ARE NOT on the Plant report card because the classes are not taken at Plant. Counselors do not enter FLVS credits.
• Students can retake courses through FLVS for grade forgiveness if they earned a D or F for the semester. To stay eligible for college admissions and the Bright Futures scholarship, students would NOT register for the credit recovery version. If students have an overall GPA near 2.0 and/or are planning on junior college (ex. HCC), then they can choose the credit recovery version.
• BOTH the credit recovery versions AND full versions of classes taken through FLVS or at Plant through Edgenuity count for GRADE FORGIVENESS.

The deadlines for students to enroll in the dual enrollment program at HCC are published on their website. Students who want to consider this option can review the deadlines, steps, and information on the HCC dual enrollment website.

*We strongly encourage students to drive the dual enrollment process, as their ability to navigate enrollment and registration is a good predictor for their self-discipline and success in college courses moving forward. Most students who READ all the instructions tend to fare well, while students who do not tend to have difficulty with enrollment, registration, and textbook ordering. Students can reach out to their counselor during the school year for assistance.

*Dual Enrollment Textbooks instructions are detailed on the dual enrollment website. Students who have problems with textbook ordering must contact the HCC Bookstore for assistance, as indicated on the instructions. Plant staff cannot assist with this process.

Plant has several credit recovery programs to support students. The first is Credit Recovery. This is on campus and is for students who earned a D or F for the semester 1 or semester 2 of a high school core required course (English, science, math, social studies). Electives are not offered. The courses are offered through the Edgenuity online credit recovery program.

BOTH the credit recovery versions and full versions of classes taken through FLVS or at Plant through Edgenuity count for GRADE FORGIVENESS. The "credit recovery" version of classes can be finished much quicker BUT does not count for university admissions or for Bright Futures, so this should be a factor when considering this option. Students would need to make sure the teachers at Plant set them up for the full version of a class to meet the admissions or BF requirement. They can set students up to take either the credit recovery version OR the full version of a course on the Edgenuity program at Plant. Alternatively, if and when courses are retaken through FLVS.net, students will need to be cautions when choosing the version of the class being retaken. Full versions take longer, while credit recovery versions are quicker. If students have an overall GPA near 2.0 and/or are planning on junior college (ex. HCC), then they can choose the credit recovery version.

This is on campus and is for students who are 16 years or older. Students who earned a D or F for the semester 1 or semester 2 of a high school core required course (English, science, math, social studies) can retake the class through this program. Electives are not offered. The courses are offered through the Edgenuity online credit recovery adult education program.

NEW! The GAP program is for students who are behind in credits and want to accelerate their education to graduate early or on time. Students are enrolled in this program full-time and complete classes on our campus. The GAP program offers scholarships for students to attend our technical colleges. Interested students can speak with their counselor about this program.

At the start of the new school year, Synergy’s ParentVUE will replace MySpot as the HCPS parent application. Parents and guardians will need to create their ParentVUE accounts to view student information like reports cards, attendance, and graduation status. Parents and guardians will continue to use Canvas to view current class grades, assignments, and for communication with teachers.

Since MySpot is being replaced, existing Canvas parent accounts will be disabled and archived. To access Canvas moving forward, parents MUST first create their ParentVUE account and then Synergy will share the account information and student relationships to Canvas. Parents will use the same username in both ParentVUE and Canvas. Activation codes will be distributed after school begins.

Canvas Technical Support

If you are having difficulty with Canvas (locked out, not loading, etc.), you will need to contact technical support at 813-744-6673. The counselors cannot provide technical support.

Check out the Florida SUS Matrix to review college admissions data for Florida colleges. You can do walking tours of many colleges on a really cool site called YouVisit. It's never too early to start researching. More information can be found on the counselor's canvas page or on the guidance website.

• Florida SUS Admissions Matrix
• https://www.youvisit.com/collegesearch/

Hillsborough County Public Schools implemented a revised Grade Point Average (GPA) weighting scale/calculation model for the class of 2027 and beyond. The new scale is recognized universally by colleges and universities, to better prepare students for gaining admission to the postsecondary school of their choice. Any changes would only impact incoming 9th and 10th graders. You can read more about the changes at the following link.

https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/gpa

The GPA calculation method for upperclassmen was developed in 2007. You can read all about the rationale behind it. The intention was good, but the outcome as that students overburden themselves by taking an overabundance of coursework predominately for rank purposes. You can read all about the method at the following link.

Website: http://planthighguidance.weebly.com
Location: 2415 S. Himes Ave, Tampa, FL 33629
Phone: 813-272-3033