The counseling program promotes student success by supporting and maximizing academic achievement, prevention and intervention activities, advocacy, and personal/social development. The program includes a variety of services consistent with the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics.
Counselors at ‘Iolani use prevention and intervention approaches in their counseling. The prevention approaches consider the developmental needs of all students and concentrate on the mastery of important coping skills. A grade 7 Guidance course, a grade 9 Life Skills course, a grade 12 guidance elective, a student orientation program, and student support groups are examples of prevention programs.
Counselors also employ crisis intervention strategies in order to meet the more immediate personal/social needs of individual students. Counselors help students understand themselves and their problems, with the primary responsibility for making decisions resting with the students. A consultant to the school, a clinical psychologist, visits the school every other week to assist the counselors and to offer suggestions for outside referrals.
There is a K-3 counselor, a grade 4-6 counselor, a counselor for each grade level, grades 7-12, and a college counselor. The student/counselor ratio in the Lower School is 270 students per counselor and in the Upper School 180 students per counselor. The counselors for the 2009-2010 school year are:
| Grade 7 |
Peter Okumura |
| Grade 8 |
Lara Feldhaus |
| Grade 9 |
Rodney Lum |
| Grade 10 |
Raquel Leong |
| Grade 11 |
Tracy Kimura |
| Grade 12 |
Vicki Higashihara & Todd Fleming |
The counselors meet individually with all students in their particular grade level during their first year together. New students and students with academic, personal, or developmental concerns receive additional individual attention.
Counselors work closely with each other, parents, the faculty and the administration to ensure that special concerns are handled appropriately and consistently. At the end of each quarter, all teachers of a particular grade level meet with the counselor and administrators to commend students and to assist students with special needs, both academic and personal.
Academic Support Services. The Counseling Department offers additional assistance to students experiencing academic difficulties. Progress reports, conferences with parents, and reading class are all available if appropriate.
Guidance Courses. All students take a 9-week guidance course in 7th grade and a 6-week Guidance rotation in the semester Life Skills course in the 9th grade. The 7th grade course focuses on building self-esteem, discussing friendship issues, increasing assertiveness, learning about the changes of adolescence, and practicing proper etiquette. The 9th grade guidance rotation concentrates on college and career exploration. An elective course for seniors, Guidance Issues, focuses on the personal, academic, and social issues these students are likely to face in college. Counselors teach the guidance courses, allowing them to be acquainted with many students in a classroom setting while teaching important life skills.
New Student Orientation. In August, new students come to ‘Iolani to meet school personnel and other new students and to tour the campus. Counselors meet with small groups of new students in September to answer questions about academic and extracurricular activities.
Student Support Groups. Support group counseling is an integral part of the Guidance program. All students may join an appropriate group, and their participation and verbal sharing are confidential within the limits mandated by law and established by the profession’s ethical standards. The groups are held at various times during the school year, according to interest expressed by the students.
