School Guidance/Counseling Program FAQ

Please contact your child's school counselor. Procedures vary from school to school.

At the secondary level, counselors are assigned either by student's last name or grade level. Parents should contact their child's school to see how counselors are assigned.

Parents first should contact the teacher to determine how the grade was calculated. If a parent is not satisfied with the teacher's explanation, then the parent should contact the school principal.

A parent may want to contact the child's school counselor so that the counselor may monitor the student's academic progress. Also the parent should check with the school counselor to see what type of individual and group counseling services are available to assist the student during this difficult period.

If you are moving into the area and will be registering your child for school it is important to have the proper records for registration such as birth certificate, immunization records, most recent report cards and proof of residency for the school you plan to enroll your child. At the start of the registration process, please alert the school counselor to any problems that may have impeded progress in the past or other concerns that you may have regarding the transition process to a new school. Also, it is a good idea to take a tour of the school with your child and participate in any new student orientation program that is available at the school. You may contact the school's guidance office to make an appointment.

If you are new to our community, we welcome you and your family to Virginia Beach. Detailed information and requirements for student registration are available for all new students and their parents.

Parents are always encouraged to talk with teachers about any difficulties that a student may have with a class to determine weaknesses and problem areas. After talking with the teacher, parents then may want to schedule a meeting with the school counselor to see what services are available that will best address academic problems.

Parents are always encouraged to communicate with teachers about their child's progress. This can be done by participating in back-to-school and orientation programs scheduled at each school, arranging a meeting with all of your child's teachers and school counselor to monitor progress, emailing, as well as telephone conferences. If your child's school offers a tracker or journal notebook for student assignments, check it daily for messages from teachers and the VBCPS Parent Portal.

Parents are asked to call the guidance office at their child's school to schedule a conference with their school counselor.

Parents should contact the student's school counselor to determine how to best monitor a student's progress between grading periods.

Parents may contact the school counselor to request counseling to guide students to more productive actions at school and home and to assist students in problem-solving. Counselors at all levels are trained to assist students with complex problems that may impact their academic, social and personal development. Please note that school counselors are not trained for issues that require therapeutic or clinical interventions and/or strategies.

To volunteer, contact your neighborhood school or the Partnership Office at 757.263.1337.

Our schools offer parent/student workshops throughout the year. Because workshops are based on the type of issues or topics that may impact a specific school community, workshops vary from school to school. To find out what programs are offered through your child's school counselor, parents are encouraged to read monthly school newsletters, visit their school website and/or contact their school guidance staff. The Family Connection program also offers several workshops throughout the school year.

VBCPS offers a scholarship-find service through Scholarship Central – an online resource that locates various scholarships for high school students. Our high school counselors are working together, as a team, to provide and direct all to scholarship opportunities for proprietary schools, colleges and universities. Parents and students are encouraged to talk with your child's school counselor and/or the ACCESS adviser at each high school about scholarship opportunities and financial assistance for post-secondary education.

Parents should contact your child's school counselor to discuss reasons that a student's schedule may need to be changed. Schedules changes are usually done only for academic reasons, such as a student was scheduled for an incorrect course, or did not successfully complete a prerequisite for a course.

Parents of rising ninth graders have an opportunity to work with their child's middle school counselor in developing a four year academic and career plan (ACP) for high school that will include graduation requirements for each diploma option. Once in high school the program plan is reviewed and updated each year to reflect the needs of the student based on the diploma option. Parents will also need to work very closely with your child's high school counselor to ensure that students are meeting graduation requirements for verified credits.

Specific graduation requirements for the Standard Diploma, Standard Technical Diploma, Advanced Studies Diploma, Advanced Technical Diploma, Special Diploma and Modified Standard Diploma are available on our website.

The first person the parent should contact is their child’s school counselor to decide on an appropriate course of action to keep students enrolled in school. The school counselor, the student and the parent can review the student's academic profile and provide the student with information on available programs within the school, provide additional resources to the parent or refer the student to alternative programs if necessary. If the parent wishes to speak to an additional staff to gain more information about compulsory attendance laws, the person can contact the Office of Student Leadership at 757.263.2033.

In order to provide home instruction, the parent must send in a Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction to the Office of Student Services. On the form, the parent must indicate how he/she is eligible to provide home instruction and provide documentation to support the eligibility. The parent needs to submit the intent form to the Office of Student Services before he/she begins home instruction.

The Office of Student Services is responsible for reviewing the Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction to determine if it complies with the Code of Virginia. In addition, the Office of Student Services reviews the evidence of achievement that the parents submit each year to determine if the evidence of achievement complies with the Code of Virginia.

The Office of Student Services, 757.263.2033, is also available to answer any questions the parent may have regarding home instruction.

All students are welcomed and encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities. Students need to listen for club announcements regarding meetings. Students are always encouraged to participate in clubs that are related to courses that they are enrolled. A good place to start is with the school's Student Activities Coordinators (middle and high school) or SCA sponsor (elementary school.)

Registration information for any college admission test is available in all high school guidance offices and on our website. Parents should contact their child's school counselor for information regarding a specific test or visit the College Board website or ACT website listed below.

http://www.collegeboard.org http://www.act.org

Each year there is a division-wide College Night at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and visits to each high school by university representatives. Please contact your school's guidance department for dates, time and school visits.

Parents are encouraged to work with their child's school counselor to receive information about your child's GPA. GPA information may be obtained by requesting a copy of your child's high school transcript from the guidance office. Class ranking is not available until the senior year and may change throughout the senior year. Therefore, the final class rank is not determined until the end of last grading period of the senior year.

Parents may work with their child's school counselor to see what type of interest/aptitude inventory may be administered to assess career interest. Most high schools offer the ASVAB and various assessments through VA Wizard to determine a student's interest/aptitude at no cost. Middle schools use Virginia Career VIEW to assess eighth grade students’ career interests. The aforementioned assessments are offered at no cost.