SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY SCHOOLS
SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM
The Virginia Board of Education has implemented state Standards of Learning (SOL) for students to ensure that all graduates of Virginia high schools have the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a technologically oriented workforce, to pursue continued education and be informed citizens. The Spotsylvania County Schools School Counseling Program is staffed by licensed school counselors and designed to complement and support the state standards, ensuring that all students in Kindergarten through grade 12 receive support in academic, career and personal/social development. Professional school counselors collaborate with parents, teachers, administrators, and other school and community members to foster, promote, and improve student success and achievement in school. The counselors provide the leadership necessary to manage the school counseling program and to implement effective strategies for the successful acquisition of the counseling standards by all students.
The comprehensive school counseling program is a collaborative effort coordinated with other educators and parents that focuses on all aspects of student learning. Although it is recognized that there are multiple factors that affect a student’s success throughout the school years, the school counseling program is an important component that affects all areas of student growth and functions as an integral part of the total school educational program.
The Standards for School Counseling Programs in Virginia Public Schools is comprised of three domains: academic, career, and personal/social. In Spotsylvania County Schools, these domains are described as:
- Counseling for Academic Development, which assists students and their parents to acquire knowledge of the curricula choices available to students, to plan a program of studies, to advise about and interpret academic testing, and to seek post-secondary academic opportunities. Students and their parents are assisted in orientation and transition to educational environments as they move from one level to another. Counselors work with all students to increase the knowledge of effective study/test-taking skills and skills for the resolution of problems that interfere with learning.
- Counseling for Career Development, which helps students to acquire information, establish career goals and design a plan to prepare for future education and employment.
- Counseling for Personal/Social Development, which assists students to develop an understanding of themselves, the rights and needs of others, to resolve conflicts and to define individual goals reflecting their interests, abilities and aptitudes.
In the event that a parent/guardian wishes to limit participation of a child in a portion of the personal/social counseling component of the Spotsylvania County School Counseling Program, the parent/guardian should provide a written notification to the school principal. Materials used in the school counseling program are available for parental review in each school.
For specific information on elementary, middle and high school counseling programs, use these links:
Elementary Schools:
www.spotsyschools.us/instruction/Elementary/ElementarySchoolCounselingProgram
Middle Schools:
www.spotsyschools.us/instruction/Middle/MiddleSchoolCounselingProgram
High Schools:
www.spotsyschools.us/instruction/High/HighSchoolCounselingProgram
Diploma Options
To better understand your diploma options, please use the chart below. Since diploma options vary from year to year you must use the year the student first entered 9th grade when using the chart below.
|
2009-2010 School Year
or prior
|
2010-2011 School Year
|
2011-2012 School Year
or beyond
|
|
Standard Diploma
Advanced Studies Diploma
Modified Diploma
Mathematics Requirements
|
Standard Diploma
Advanced Studies Diploma
Modified Diploma
Mathematics Requirements
|
Standard Diploma
Standard Technical Diploma
Advanced Studies Diploma
Advanced Technical Diploma
Modified Diploma
Mathematics Requirements
|
Please Note: The information listed above addresses the requirements for graduation from Spotsylvania County Public Schools. Students who plan to participate in college athletics should also visit the NCAA Eligibility site to ensure that classes taken at Spotsylvania also meet the requirements for NCAA eligibility. Additional information regarding the NCAA can be found at http://eligibilitycenter.org/ .