Guidance and Testing Program

The Guidance and Testing Program focuses on the psychological and socioemotional aspects of formation. It seeks to journey with students in their personalsocial, academic, and career development through comprehensive and developmental encounters, interventions, programs, activities, testing, counseling, interviews, and
referrals. It hopes to form students with a realistic self-knowledge that will enable them to navigate well life’s challenges, opportunities, and choices. It has four major program components and services: Guidance Curriculum, Individual Planning, Responsive Service, and Routine Interview.

Guidance Curriculum
Initiated and facilitated by the guidance personnel, this consists of activities focusing on the areas of personal-social, academic, and career development of the students.

(1) Orientation of Students
(2) Homeroom/Guidance Classes
(3) Group Dynamics Sessions (Class Days for Grades 7 & 8; Class Nights for Grades 9 & 10; Class Convos for Grades 11 & 12)
(4) Talks/Symposia (Career Talks/Carousels for Grade School and Grades 9-12; Boy/Girl Talk for Grades 5 & 6; Let’s CHAT for Children of OFW
parents; other guidance-related talks for students)

Individual Planning
In collaboration with teachers, formators, and parents, students are assisted in planning, monitoring, and managing their own learning as well as their personal and career development through different services.

(1) Psychological Testing
(2) Individual Inventory Record
(3) Placement and Follow-up
(4) Interview and Counseling

Responsive Service
This consists of activities designed to meet immediate needs of students that may require counseling, consultation, or referral. This service is a response to a student/parent-initiated request or a result of a referral from a teacher or a formation officer.

(1) Interview
(2) Individual/Group Counseling
(3) Career Counseling
(4) Referral
(5) Follow-up

System Support
This involves activities that help establish, maintain, and enhance the implementation of a comprehensive Guidance Program. This entails collaboration and coordination with and/or participation of the school administration, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, and other resources in the community.

(1) Orientations (Orientation for Parents, Orientation for Faculty and Staff, Orientation for Homeroom Advisers)
(2) Conferences (Faculty Colloquia, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Teacher-Formator Consultations, Consultations/Meetings with Formation Team)
(3) Talks/Symposia (Parenting Talks, Talk for Faculty and Staff)
(4) Professional Development (for Guidance and Testing Personnel)
(5) Facility Improvement

Guidance and Counseling Procedures

General Procedures for Routine Interviews/Counseling/Individual Conferences

(a) Sessions between the counselors and students are usually scheduled, unless the student’s concern requires immediate attention.
(b) The interview is scheduled by the guidance counselor/facilitator incharge and the student is given a Call-in Slip. The student presents this slip to the subject teacher in order for him/her to be allowed to leave the classroom.
(c) The guidance counselor/facilitator in-charge conducts the interview in the Guidance Office. The student is oriented about the confidentiality of the session, the rules and procedures, and the goals of the session.
(d) The counselor/facilitator writes down the salient points of the session and files them in the student’s Individual Inventory Record after the session.
(e) The student presents a Guidance Return Slip signed by the guidance counselor/facilitator to the teacher upon returning to the classroom.
(f) The counselor/facilitator notifies the student’s parents/guardian when the situation calls for it, following professional code of ethics.

Routine Interview

(a) All students undergo routine interview during the school year.
(b) The session is conducted following general procedures for routine interview.

Individual Conference/Counseling

Walk-in/Voluntary for Individual Students

• A student can come voluntarily to the guidance office as a walk-in client.
• The student makes an appointment with the counselor. Counseling sessions for walk-in students are usually done during the student’s free time (e.g. recess, lunch break, or dismissal). However, if the concern is urgent that requires immediate attention and intervention, the counselor attends to the student right away.
• The session is conducted following counseling procedures.

Referral from a School Personnel

• A student may be referred for counseling by a school personnel or a formation office to the counselor in-charge.
• The student is given a Call-in Slip and is called to the Guidance Office on the set schedule.
• Counseling is done following counseling process and procedures.
• The referring school personnel is given feedback that the student had already been called for a session with the counselor. However, details about the session are kept confidential.

Referral from a Parent

(i) A parent may refer his/her child for counseling.
(ii) A parent-counselor conference is set to discuss the concerns about the student.
(iii) A schedule for the counseling is then set.
(iv) The child is called for the session with the counselor, following guidance procedures.
(v) The counselor updates the parent/s about the outcome of the conversation with the student, following professional code of ethics.

Follow-up Counseling
In certain cases, students are called for subsequent counseling sessions following
counseling procedures.

Group Counseling

(i) Students who have similar concerns are called for a group counseling.
(ii) The sessions are done following counseling procedures.

Referral

(a) In cases where the concern about a student requires professional assistance beyond the capacity of the guidance personnel and beyond the services offered by the Guidance and Testing Office (GTO), counselors will work with the student and/or the student’s parents/guardians to identify community resources to meet such needs.
(b) The parents/guardian updates the guidance counselor/facilitator of the result of the consultation with the specialist. A report from the specialist is submitted to the GTO, the contents of which is handled with confidentiality, following professional code of ethics.\

Testing

(a) The psychometricians are in-charge of all guidance-related testing activities utilizing standardized and locally developed tests.
(b) Test results are given back to the students, explained to the whole class, and discussed individually by the guidance counselor/facilitator during individual conferences.
(c) Test results are used to come up with class profiles, studies, and action researches leading to possible interventions and curriculum improvement. These are also used for placement and career guidance and counseling.
(d) Testing also includes the administration of Admission Exams in school. Please see Appendix H for more details.

Meanwhile, the GTP is also responsible in the conduct, facilitation, operation, training, and monitoring of the class advisers who are responsible in taking care of the  individual concerns of students in their assigned classes. The following are the class sections per grade level:

Note that the Guidance and Testing Program is headed by the Guidance Coordinator and crewed by two (2) Psychometricians and five (5) Guidance Facilitators/Counselors. Through colloquia, PTCs, guidance classes, guidance talks, class nights, disciplinary board, and class days, they coordinate closely with the  other formation and academic programs to ensure maximum service and assistance.