Every year Juniors at EHS talk to their counselors about the future of their academic career and career in general. But these conversations can come with trials and tribulations. The goal our counseling department has is to see every Junior in a conference scheduled between February and early May. This is one of the first problems with this system. With such a large Junior class this year, it can be difficult to find time and room for every student. Counselor Ms. Glasgow said “There are 715 juniors and 10 counselors. We do our best!” Glasgow continued “I’m usually at least 50% of the way though and I have historically had about a 85% attendance rate. This year I have only had one “no show” and I plan on having that student attend a group session as a make-up conference.”

One disadvantage of these conferences is that some students don’t believe they need one entirely. Junior, Isabella Martinez, says, “I don’t think I need it necessarily, but it would be helpful to get some guidance and advice.” Counseling cannot always deal with so many students. It is a daunting job for anyone, and our counselors are trying their best to help students while also setting up Junior conferences. “I have met 23 of my 90 Juniors. I have the remainder scheduled for an individual conference or a small group conference between now and the 2nd week of May.”

An advantage (or disadvantage depending on how you look at it) is the timing of the conferences. Sometimes they can be during class, which then takes away from time to do actual class work. Since the school schedule is not properly setup for everyone to actually have a free period, the counselor can have a difficult time communicating when a conference actually is. “I had no idea it was happening and I only know because I was called down for a different reason” said Dakota McIlvena.

One advantage is that many students actually do agree on the need for a conference is also Bela Bernal says “I need guidance on figuring out my future, I have a small plan but don’t know how to make it possible yet”  Bernal also stated that, “the Junior conferences should be taken more seriously [by students].” The work done by the counseling department for the Juniors is very important, and deserves to be taken more seriously than it is by all people involved in the process.