JH/HS Counseling

The HS/JH Counseling Office at Villa Madonna Academy provides services aligned with the Villa mission and vision. These services follow students from their entry into junior high through their transition into high school and will culminate with graduation and transitioning to college.

Mindful of the developmental process of children and adolescents, our Counseling Office has created a comprehensive program to assist the personal growth and development of students as they move through their school experience. This program intentionally addresses developmentally appropriate topics at each grade level.

From our perspective, we want each student to understand that school success cannot be measured solely on grades and university acceptances. Our goal is for the education process to focus on mature realistic decision-making with an emphasis on considering the whole person as students journey through self-discovery, navigating relationships, determining personal strengths and weaknesses, goal-setting, overcoming personal challenges, and finally, honing their decision-making skills. These all contribute to the successful completion of their educational experience from elementary through high school and signify an important step toward their transition into adulthood.

In addition to our work with each student, we partner with Villa staff, families, and community stakeholders to address student needs to help them achieve success in and out of the classroom.

Villa counselors are not clinical counselors and cannot diagnose or prescribe medication. We work with outside resources to provide appropriate referrals when determined that additional counseling services are needed.

College & Career Curriculum

Our Guidance Counselor, Mr. Walter Ingram, is dedicated to ensuring a personalized student experience as they navigate the college admissions process. the mission is to help students find the university that is the best fit academically, socially, and financially. The curriculum includes:

List of 4 items.

9th Grade
- Weekly guidance lessons during the 1st semester focus on the transition into high school
- One-on-one family meetings to create individualized road maps for each student to achieve post-secondary goals
10th Grade
- Classroom guidance lessons on career exploration to help students narrow down their career interests
- Focus on career-readiness skills and demonstrate skills in a mock interview with leaders in the community
- Opportunities to participate in our formal job shadowing program
- Updates to individualized high school road maps as needed
11th Grade
- Provide guidance to all junior families on how to develop an effective standardized test strategy plan to achieve target scores
- Comprehensive college planning guidance in Junior College Planning Seminar
- One-on-one meetings with all families to provide individualized college planning for each student
- Update individualized high school road maps as needed.
12th Grade
- Improve Your Edge program provides students with resume-building, interview practice and feedback, and etiquette training
- Ongoing support for students and their families during the college application process