Counseling
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Together, TJ’s counselors, administrators and staff work with students and parents to ensure the proper level of academic challenge, rigor and growth is achieved for each student. A number of services and resources are available through our Counseling and Future Center, including assistance with applications and admissions processes, and identification of opportunities best suited to each student. We also help to facilitate college visits and college information events that help students better understand their options. We assist with Naviance, transcripts, admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and working with students toward meeting post-secondary goals.
Academic Counselors
Jillian Gleason (A-D)
Maggie Kennedy (E-L)
Erin Thompson (M-Q, IEPs)
Anderson, Jeremy (R-Z)
Denver Scholarship Foundation
Sophie Vogel – Future Center Advisor
Student Services
The counseling staff at Thomas Jefferson High School offers services to support all students and their diverse needs. We are advocates for students and directly support their social, emotional and academic development and achievement with direct interventions, services and resources. We strive to build strong relationships between home, school and the community to best facilitate growth and development.
Samanda Davis Social Worker
Natalie Koncz School Psychologist
Kathleen Aubert Speech Therapist
Brian Weaver GT Itinerant
Rossanda Jackson ELA Specialist
College-Bound Checklist by Grade Levels
9th Grade Checklist
NOTE: Incoming 9th grade choice of studies nights will be April 11 or 12 from 6:00pm to 8:00 p.m.
Graduation-Requirements and Credit Mapping
- Understand your GPA
- Your Grade Point Average (GPA) during your freshmen year will have a major impact on the colleges that will accept you and the number of scholarships that you’ll be eligible for as a senior. Your GPA will also determine your eligibility for sports.
- Understand high school graduation & college admissions requirements
- By the time you make decisions about your schedule for your sophomore year, make sure you understand all the graduation requirements. This means understand how many credits you need to earn to graduate and the subjects you need to earn those credits in. Also, make sure you understand the college admissions requirements, which can be different from your high school graduation requirements. The college of your choice may expect you to take specific classes in high school, earn a specific GPA and get a certain ACT/SAT test score.
- Learn “The Big 5 Things” that will help get you into college
- Your GPA from all classes to date
- Your ACT or SAT scores (tests taken during junior & senior years)
- Extracurricular activities and community service/volunteering
- Letters of Recommendation from teachers, counselors, coaches, or employers
- A Personal Essay (written at the end of junior year/beginning of senior year)
- Find extracurricular activities that interest you (join at least one)
- Talk to your high school counselor or a teacher about getting involved in extracurricular activities and community service projects like sports or student groups. Finding activities that you enjoy will help you become a leader and help you stand out when you apply to college and for scholarships.
- Volunteer
- Many colleges and scholarships want to see that you have volunteered. Many scholarships require that you have earned a specific amount of volunteer hours in order to apply for their scholarship. If you would like to see where you can volunteer in Denver go to google.com and type “Volunteer Denver.” This is also a great way to make your application stand out as a desirable student for their school.
- Visit Big Future and You can Go (College Board)
- Utilize bigfuture.org as your step-by-step guide to college planning. Get inspired about college and hear about other college students experiences by visiting www.ycg.org
- Prepare for PARCC (Do your best!)
- By the time you come back from winter break your school will begin to focus on the PARCC test. This means use whatever resources available at your school to study for this test. Taking this test seriously will help you excel on the ACT and SAT.
- REMINDER – GRADES COUNT NOW!
- Colleges look at grades starting your freshman year, don’t jeopardize your chances of getting into the college you want to attend by not caring your freshman year. Remember EVERY YEAR COUNTS!
10th Grade Checklist
- Earn the best grades you can
- Students who have a solid GPA by the end of their sophomore year of high school are in a much better position to be admitted to college with scholarships than students who wait until their junior year to try to raise their GPA.
- Understand the Higher Education Admission Requirements (HEAR)
- Each graduating class will have different college admission requirements than previous classes. Make an appointment with your counselor or visit with your Future Center for more details.
- Get involved
- Extracurricular activities help give life and meaning to a high school career. They are a vital part of a good resume. Research the different clubs and organizations that your school has to offer. Volunteering is another great way to get involved during high school and can help prepare you for your future career and connect you with valuable resources. Volunteering is a huge advantage when it comes to scholarships and even some colleges. For volunteer opportunities in Denver go to google.com and type “Volunteer Denver.”
- Find extracurricular activities that interest you (join at least one)
- Talk to your high school counselor or a teacher about getting involved in extracurricular activities and community service projects like sports or student groups. Finding activities that you enjoy will help you become a leader and help you stand out when you apply to college and for scholarships.
- Volunteer
- Many colleges and scholarships want to see that you have volunteered. Many scholarships require that you have earned a specific amount of volunteer hours in order to apply for their scholarship. If you would like to see where you can volunteer in Denver go to google.com and type “Volunteer Denver.”
- Visit Big Future and You can Go (College Board)
- Utilize bigfuture.org as your step-by-step guide to college planning. Get inspired about college and hear about other college students experiences by visiting www.ycg.org
- Complete Interest and Career Inventory
- Know what your interests are and begin to select possible career options. Also note what educational requirements each one has.
- Visit a College Campus
- Whether you take a walking tour of a college campus or a virtual tour, it is important to know what type of school you would like to attend. Would you like to go to a private school, public school, vocational, large, small, etc.
- REMINDER – GRADES COUNT NOW!
- Colleges look at grades starting your freshman year, don’t jeopardize your chances of getting into the college you want to attend by not caring your sophomore year. Remember EVERY YEAR COUNTS!
11th Grade Checklist
- Continue to build on successes at school
- Colleges look closely at your grades during your sophomore and junior years to determine the “current you.” One bad grade during your junior year can be devastating, even if your cumulative GPA is high from your performance during 9th and 10th grades.
- Begin scholarship search
- Since scholarship deadlines are usually at the same time each year, you can use your junior year to find and save scholarships for which you may be eligible. Create and account on fastweb.com to receive updates on scholarships that you may qualify for or check out the scholarship directory on the Denver Scholarship Foundation website: www.denverscholarship.org/scholarshipdirectory
- Prepare for and take the ACT
- Make sure you study and understand what is on the test. Take a practice test. Remember that every student in Colorado will take the statewide ACT assessment in April during their junior year. For ACT/SAT Test Prep, go to actstudent.org for the ACT and www.collegeboard.com for the SAT.
- Find 10 colleges that match your interests
- By summer before senior year, narrow your list to maximum 6 colleges.
- Research your colleges and place them into three categories:
- Safety schools: your grades and test scores are well above the college’s average.
- target Schools: your grades and test scores are about the same as the college’s average.
- Reach schools: your grades and test scores are below the college’s average.
- Understand all the necessary parts of the college application.
- Not all the college applications are the same, so make sure you pay close attention to the application requirements for each school to which you plan to apply. (Applications fees, transcripts, ACT/SAT test scores, essays, letters of rec.)
- Write a draft of your personal essay.
- Most scholarship applications require a personal essay but not all colleges require an essay, however, it is always good to send one in. Your essay will help you to stand out from other applicants. These essays are usually an assignment in students’ English classes.
- Create/update personal resume.
- Update your personal resume so that it highlights your accomplishments and involvement, which should include school activities, work, and volunteering/community service activities. If you would like to find out about volunteer opportunities in Denver go to google.com and type “Volunteer Denver.”
- Consider who to ask about letters of recommendation.
- Build a resume and/or complete a letter of recommendation request form and keep them on file so that you can give to teachers, coaches, counselors, employers and/or advisors/mentors during your senior year.
- Student-Athletes register for The NCAA Clearinghouse.
- Register for the NCAA by logging onto eligibilitycenter.org. Registering on this website is a requirement for student-athletes who plan to play collegiate sports at the Division I or Division II level. The clearinghouse, which is a separate organization from the college you plan to attend, evaluates your academic record to determine if you are eligible to play as a freshman in college. (You still have to apply to the college separately for admission, just like everyone else).
- Attend College Nights and College Fairs.
- This is the ideal year to gather college information. If you attend college nights and fairs now it will make your senior year that much easier.
12th Grade Checklist
Given the amount of relevant post-secondary information intended for seniors, we have included all the documents that students receive during their senior meeting.
Graduation-Requirements and Credit Mapping
College Admissions 101
Letter of Recommendation Request Form
Scholarship Resources
Tips for Parents on Finding the Right College
Post Secondary
- College Information
- Financial Aid & Scholarship Information
- Career Training Information
- Military Information
For additional information please contact your Counselor or the DSF Advisor.
ICAPs (Individual Career and Education Plan)
What students should know and be able to do
- Career Exploration & Planning
- Match personal interests with career possibilities
- Identify a personal career, pathway, or Career Cluster goal
- Goal Setting
- Learn the process of developing goals and pathways toward goals, including academic, post-secondary, workforce, and service learning goals.
- Learn the academic beliefs, behaviors, and performance standards required to be “on-track” for post-secondary readiness and evaluate progress toward these benchmarks.
- Develop the persistence and motivation to overcome barriers to meet goals.
- Academic Success & Course Planning
- Learn the process of intentionally selecting classes to meet high school graduation requirements.
- Understand the importance of selecting rigorous CE, CTE, and AP courses that align with career and postsecondary path goals.
- Postsecondary & Financial Planning
- Explore the earning and lifestyle potential of postsecondary education.
- Learn the process needed to plan and prepare for post-secondary or career training. This includes understanding how to access and pay for post-secondary education.
Concurrent Enrollment
ACC App for Admission
ACC Application Info Needed
ACC Ordering Transcripts
ACC Transcript Request Form
CE Agreement Form
CE Registration Form
WSU CE Enrollment Registration Form
Naviance
Naviance User Guide
Student Log in
Miscellaneous
DPS Excursion Permission Form
PE Exemption Form
Student Asssistant Application
Counseling Calendar
