[SAMPLE] Counseling Annual Timeline

Here is a very nice Counseling timeline by month that a Counselor (Kay Lee) shared with members of the High School Counselor group on FB. She agreed to share it here and hopefully this is beneficial in helping you as you begin the 2022/2023 school year.

August

  • Review and complete schedules: fill holes, manage student requests, ensure proper placement for alternative programming, credit recovery, dual enrollment;, cross-reference summer school list and failure lists, and CTE Internships, balance class sizes
  • Mail schedules and information to student homes/Notify of PowerSchool access
  • Audit senior transcripts
  • New student enrollment and scheduling
  • Organize college admission representative visits
  • Conduct process for students/parents to request corrections that meet the criteria; make any needed schedule corrections prior to school starting
  • Intake CDM (Credit by Demonstrated Mastery)n requests, supply paperwork, inform students of the process, and where to submit paperwork
  • Update graduation checklists for each student from Spring and Summer of previous school year
  • Cross reference and follow up to ensure each student with Senior Release has submitted a signed release form
  • Cross reference and follow up to ensure each student with a dual enrollment course has submitted dual enrollment contract
  • Organize and clean Counseling Center lobby and offices
  • Update resources, forms, materials, website, social media
  • Update Counseling Timeline for the year
  • Analyze needs assessment data and feedback; discuss group goals for the year (PDP)
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

September

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Tie up any loose ends with schedule changes within the first 10 days of school
  • Review senior transcript audits within the first 10 days
  • Establish Mental Health referral protocol and referrals for outside services
  • Develop/disseminate observation collection data for 504 request
  • Schedule 504 transition meetings for new 9th graders
  • Disseminate 504 plans and obtain staff acknowledgement within the first week
  • Contact parents on no-show list and tie up any withdrawals within the first 20 days
  • Host Senior Night with info sessions for students and parents; CFNC Financial Aid information
  • Update School Profile within the first month
  • Start classroom visits (homerooms, senior English classes, classroom observations)
  • Individual meetings with all graduating seniors to discuss post-secondary plans, college applications, scholarship applications, financial aid
  • Individual meetings with all 9th graders to review grades, attendance, important tips and resources
  • Enter historical grades for all newly enrolled students starting with seniors
  • Enter testing data for all newly enrolled students
  • Provide Principal Transfer of Credits Request Form for transfer students
  • Identify potential mid year graduates; meet with midyear grads and provide application; provide completed applications to Principal for approval
  • Identify Minimum Credit Diploma graduates; meet with MCD students and provide request form; provided completed request form to Principal for approval
  • Common App School Reports, Counselor Reports, college applications for Early Action and Early Decision deadlines
  • Letters of recommendation for Early Action and Early Decision deadlines
  • Notify students of “Big Scholarships”
  • Notify seniors of application process for Big Scholarships; coordinate and oversee application process
  • Scholarship committee meets to nominate students for Big Scholarships; students notified of decisions; Counselors complete needed forms and school reports; assist students in completing applications
  • Organize and oversee college admission representative visits
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year

October

  • Common App School Reports, Counselor Reports, college applications for Early Action and Early Decision deadlines
  • Letters of recommendation for Early Action and Early Decision deadlines
  • Continue individual meetings with all graduating seniors to discuss post-secondary plans, college applications, scholarship applications, financial aid; complete Senior Meeting Information Form
  • Individual meetings with all juniors to discuss academic planning, plans for after high school, etc.
  • Coordinate cap and gown orders for seniors
  • Continue individual meetings with all 9th graders to review grades, attendance, important tips and resources
  • Support parent-teacher conferences
  • College Application Week sessions, student meetings, and support for application process
  • Organize and oversee dual enrollment advising
  • Identify alternative program student referrals and communicate with Dean of Alternative Programming about those referrals
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • PSAT Merit referrals and submission of recommendation letters
  • Governor’s School referrals
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

November

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Common App School Reports, Counselor Reports, college applications for November Early Action and Early Decision deadlines
  • Letters of recommendation for November Early Action and Early Decision deadlines
  • Obtain Quarter 1 failure list; organize and implement interventions: student meetings, parent conferences, goal-setting, action plans
  • Individual meetings with freshmen, sophomores to discuss four-year plan, plans for after high school, etc.
  • 9th grade English classroom visits (4-year plan)
  • Assist seniors attending community college the following fall in scheduling advising appointments, application support sessions, scholarship support sessions with community college advisers
  • Processing and coordinating alternative program referrals for following spring semester
  • Continue providing academic support, collecting data for needs assessments
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

December

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports.
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Common App School Reports, Counselor Reports, college applications for January deadlines
  • Letters of recommendation for January deadlines
  • Assist seniors attending community college the following fall in scheduling advising appointments, application support sessions, scholarship support sessions with community college advisers
  • 9th Grade end of semester support
  • Processing and coordinating alternative program referrals
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

January

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Common App School Reports, Counselor Reports, college applications for January deadlines
  • Ensure 2nd semester senior release forms for each student that has release 2nd semester
  • Ensure dual enrollment contract has been signed and submitted for any student registered for Spring semester
  • Obtain 1st semester failure list and adjust student schedules
  • Letters of recommendation for January deadlines
  • Complete Review of Accommodations forms for all 504 students
  • Final exam test administration
  • EOC administration and proctoring
  • 9th Grade English classroom lessons for 2nd semester classes
  • Manage credit recovery needs, conference with students and parents, enroll students in credit recovery
  • Notify Data Manager of any midyear promotions
  • Academics Page and Graduation Analysis for midyear graduates – notify Data Manager of midyear graduates
  • Tie up any loose ends with scheduling issues for second semester within first 10 days
  • Disseminate 504 plans and obtain staff signatures within first week
  • Ensure proper placement of dual enrollment and CTE Internship classes for 2nd semester
  • Audit senior transcripts within the first 10 days of the semester
  • Ongoing updating and monitoring of senior graduation requirements each week through the semester
  • Audit junior transcripts
  • Meet with all students who received attendance failures for first semester about attendance makeup contracts
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

February

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Ongoing updating and monitoring of senior graduation requirements each week through the semester
  • Ongoing documentation of contacts to failing/ struggling seniors
  • Common App School Reports, Counselor Reports, college applications for February deadlines
  • Letters of recommendation for February deadlines
  • Update registration forms and enrollment packets
  • Rising 9th Grade Parent Night – TBA
  • Classroom lessons for rising 9th graders at middle schools
  • Individual student meetings with rising 9th graders at middle schools (February – March TBD)
  • Film video/plan presentation for course registration registration
  • Homeroom lessons for registration information presented to current high school students
  • Assist seniors enrolling at community college after graduation in completing scholarship application; host scholarship application support sessions with reps from the college
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

March

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Ongoing documentation of contacts to failing/ struggling seniors
  • Individual student meetings with rising 9th graders at middle schools (February – March TBD)
  • Deadline mid-March for private/charter school students to enroll; input their course requests and answer high volume of parent emails/phone calls with questions
  • Individual student meetings for course registration and four-year planning (March-April). At student meetings, review course registration card, review historical grades, credits, and transcript audits, and:
    • Rising 12th grade: discuss post-secondary plans, review 12th grade timeline
    • Rising 11th grade: Review four year plan, complete graduation requirements checklist and transcript audit, review 11th grade timeline
    • Rising 10th grade: Review four year plan, complete graduation requirements checklist and transcript audit, review 10th grade timeline
  • Obtain Quarter 3 failure list; organize and implement interventions: student meetings, parent conferences, goal-setting, action plans
  • Assist seniors attending community college the following fall in scheduling advising appointments, application support sessions, scholarship support sessions with community college advisers, complete scholarship applications
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

April

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Ongoing documentation of contacts to failing/ struggling seniors
  • Continue individual registration meetings for course registration and four-year planning (March-April)
  • Complete input of all course requests for returning high school students, incoming 9th grade students, and all new enrollees by April deadline (TBD)
  • Dual enrollment advising, registration, distribution of contracts, receiving and maintaining contracts
  • Meetings with at-risk seniors, regular contact with their teachers and parents, provide appropriate interventions and referrals as needed
  • Processing and coordinating alternative program referrals for following fall semester
  • Analyze failure lists from previous semesters, distribute summer school contracts, advise students on summer school and credit recovery options, document delivery of contracts, receive and maintain returned contracts
  • Plan cap and gown distribution; review diploma orders
  • Review of Accommodations forms for EOCs and CTE post-assessments for all 504 students
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

May

  • Continue with new student enrollment and scheduling
  • Progress monitor all students in Credit Recovery through Edgenuity
  • Weekly monitoring of failure reports
  • Weekly meetings with Principal/AP on failing seniors and ongoing communication with senior students and families to foster academic success throughout the school year
  • Ongoing documentation of contacts to failing/ struggling seniors
  • Senior Survey distributed by May 5
  • Review senior transcript audits, credit checks
  • Meetings with at-risk seniors, regular contact with their teachers and parents, provide appropriate interventions and referrals as needed
  • Graduation Committee planning and activities
  • Processing and coordinating alternative program referrals
  • Continue to support at-risk seniors progressing toward graduation: regular meetings, check-ins with teachers, updates to parents, provide appropriate interventions and referrals as needed
  • Complete Review of Accommodations forms for all 504 students
  • Final exam test administration
  • Notify Data Manager of any retentions
  • Academics Page and Graduation Analysis for graduates – notify Data Manager of any changes
  • Manage credit recovery needs, conference with students and parents, enroll students in Summer School or credit recovery
  • Begin to update forms, procedures, and timeline for the following year
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

June

  • Graduation Ceremony
  • Review 2nd semester failure list and adjust student course requests/schedules as needed
  • Review summer school list
  • Complete final school reports for college applications
  • Analyze Senior Survey data and provide to stakeholders
  • Individual student meetings to support mental health and academic success

July

  • Input of course requests for new enrollees over the summer
  • Key in schedules following rollover
  • Work on updating forms, procedures, and timeline for the following year
  • Edit and correct student schedules, managing scheduling conflicts, filling holes, ensuring proper placement, etc.

Yearlong + ongoing

  • Individual student meetings for preventative and responsive services
  • NCAA Eligibility Center management
  • High volume of daily emails and phone calls from parents, students, and faculty
  • 504 annual review and initial eligibility meeting and process
  • Parent, student, school, and community social engagement (regular contact through social media, website, parent emails)
  • Grade level monthly newsletters
  • Parent and team meetings for preventative and responsive services
  • Department PLCs
  • Team EC meetings
  • SST/Heads Up meetings
  • New student enrollment and maintaining historical grades, academic data
  • Mental health referrals
  • Homebound applications and support
  • Career counseling and referrals
  • Crisis response, support, and assessments (including Gaggle and SSARS)
  • Classroom lessons
  • Counseling Department weekly meetings, secondary level PLCs,  district-wide PLCs
  • School Counselor trainings and professional development (CFNC, CollegeBoard, Break by the Lake, NCSCA, ASCA, CollegeBoard, NBPTS, MAHEC, United Way, etc.)
  • Student Services school and district meetings
  • Faculty meetings

Committee meetings (PBIS, SIT, MTSS, SHAC,, Department Chair, Graduation, etc.)