Guidance Office
Greetings!
We understand that applying to college is a critical point of personal transition, and we endeavor to walk students through that process beginning with the 9th grade and culminating with your child attending the college of his or her choice.
It is our hope to help parents with the college admission process and to teach students where they have an opportunity and responsibility in this process. At the same time, we understand college admission to be a family experience, and invite parents to work along side of us to prepare students to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. At CCA, we are not just helping students plan for college, but for an entire life.
Beginning in the fall of the Freshman Year, we meet to discuss the Quality Points and the GPA system so that freshmen will understand the importance of good grades. Freshmen, sophmores, and juniors also take the PSAT/NMSQT as a preliminary step to taking the SAT or the ACT for college admissions during their Junior and Senior years.
Another component for Career Exploration for Juniors is taking the ASVAB Career Exploration Test in February. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program includes eight individual tests covering verbal and math skills, mechanical knowledge, electronics, etc. It also provides three Career Exploration Scores for Verbal Skills, Math Skills, and Science and Technical Skills. These three scores serve as one of several pieces of information about your teen that can aid in the exploration of a wide variety of educational and career options. Many students try to make decisions about college or careers before they have really spent time thinking about their own interests, values, talents, and abilities. This is one tool that will help students and parents honestly evaluate college and career choices.
In the spring of the Junior year, a Career Exploration Meeting with Juniors and their parents gives us an opportunity to review the results of the PSAT and ASVAB scores with explanations of each section. This is a valuable planning meeting for families as the senior year approaches.
Seniors have multiple opportunities to meet with the Guidance Counselor to update college applications, transcript requests, and get information about choices of college majors. Individuals in the community are primary sources of information for our seniors as the guidance counselor facilitates conversations and interviews for seniors in fields of his/her interest. Seniors also complete a major research project on a primary career choice.