The Guidance Department provides personal, social, and academic support to students either during individual and/or group counseling sessions. Counselors collaborate with parents and faculty members to insure the success and safety of BHSEC students. The primary focus of counseling is to equip students with coping strategies designed to help them manage personal stressors. Students learn to identify obstacles that interfere with their ability to achieve their goals. The counseling staff also offers conflict mediation services, organizational support, and, when necessary, members of the Guidance Department make referrals to and collaborate with community based organizations and external mental health professionals. In accordance with the ASCA guidelines, the Guidance Counselor works with students to help them achieve their academic potential, explore careers, and develop personally and socially. She also provides leadership, advocacy, and collaboration with third parties to enhance student achievement and promote equity and access.
Student Support Teams are proactive, multidisciplinary, problem-solving structures that analyze trends in school-wide data (e.g. attendance, behavior, academics, and health) to understand the ways in which scholars experience school. The SST is the school’s vehicle for the development and management of school-wide, universal prevention and intervention activities. It is the overarching, macro approach to school-based student services and guides the micro approaches delivered at each tier.
Key support services are listed below:
The Learning Commons promotes college readiness by providing individual tutorial help in all subject areas, with a special focus on the critical areas of writing and math. The Learning Commons provides a common learning space for students to collaborate with each other through small group work and study groups. Students may sign up for tutoring sessions with a professor or a student mentor, or they may use the Commons to work in small peer study groups.
The Learning Center at BHSEC Newark offers academic support by Bard Fellows and peer tutoring services across the disciplines during the school day and after school hours.
All faculty members at BHSEC offer office hours—dedicated time in which they work individually with students. Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty members. Faculty members also offer organized group study for students who appear to be struggling in their classes.
The National Honor Society offers peer tutoring to students in need of additional academic support in addition to tutoring with our Bard Fellows and office hours with professors. Students meet with a peer tutor weekly in the library for one-on-one assistance with homework assignments and test preparation and for help with developing good study habits. The goal of the Peer Tutoring Program is to connect students to a classmate who understands the challenges of early college, and who is able to help students reach specific academic objectives.
School begins for our incoming 9th grade students in mid-August at BHSEC Newark’s two-week summer bridge program. During the summer bridge program, students attend English classes focusing on written expression, math classes, and classes devoted to study skills. New students also participate in exercises to familiarize them with the school and with their peers. These exercises are facilitated by the school counselor and a group of BHSEC Newark Student Ambassadors. The exercises focus on topics related to time management, health/nutrition, and peer pressure in the context of an early college program.
As an early college, we strive to offer the kinds of academic, social, and emotional supports appropriate for our students. The advisory program, which serves as a peer support group, offers a major source of support for students in the high school program. By providing a supportive and accepting meeting place, advisory groups allow students to voice concerns and problems, address issues that are important to them, and offer each other guidance and support.
Please consult the handbook for school policies including the code of conduct, academic policies, and more.
On this page you can find contact information for Nurse Wisneiski and necessary forms for asthma, allergy, medications, and sports physicals.
