THIS ISSUE OF CRAIG CONVERSATIONS focuses on two aspects of our program that influence students each day.

At Craig High School, Dawn DeSimone, Director of College Counseling and Placement, has been helping students and their parents for over ten years. Her work has led to most students being placed properly at the beginning of their post-secondary career. To put that feat into context, I need to remind all that, according to several sources that in the United States, approximately one-quarter of students who go onto higher education after high school have transferred to another school or have left college by the middle of their second year. Our record is much better than that.

TAD JACKS, Head of School

LS/MS EXPO

EACH YEAR, the Craig School hosts a special evening to celebrate the collaboration of teachers and the achievements of our students. In the past, we have done a variety of Expos, including celebrating the sciences and world cultures. This year, our teachers came together, and as a group, decided to focus on the arts and combine this Expo with the annual Talent Show

ART-TICULATION

PARENTS AND VISITORS ALIKE are always impressed by our art-filled hallways and there is never enough time to see all of the art projects. This year, we decided to host ART-ticulation on May 18th.

Rooms were set up with varying art themes such as the portrait room, sculpture room, the modern art room and many more. There was a video streaming displayed on the Smartboards of the students at work. Every student had an opportunity to explain their pieces to their parents and tell them about what inspired them to create their work. To conclude the evening, we had an ice cream social and the centerpieces were designed by the students.

“It is difficult to put in words the pride and joy you see in a child when they have created their own personal masterpiece or stepped out on the stage. The arts allow students the opportunity to become more confident and develop a feeling of pride in their accomplishments. ART-ticulation was our way of sharing the love of the arts with all of you.” — JANET COZINE

Personalized College Planning

JUST LIKE OUR COLLEGE PREP ACADEMIC PROGRAM, our College and Post-Secondary Counseling program is individualized to each of our students and families. In addition to teaching classes to our 10th through 12th grade, which provides personal insights and builds positive relationship dynamics, Dawn DeSimone works one-on-one with each student throughout their HS career to map out the best path their post-secondary journeys.

The process begins each fall where students and their parents are invited for individualized conferences, where they establish the first set of college/postsecondary criteria based on a multitude of variables including student interests, aptitudes, multiple intelligences, learning and work preferences, and PSAT score report. Our college counselor then searches and creates a perfect collection of recommendations that match the established criteria. They then meet to review the recommendations in detail.

Next, we provide the prep that leads to on-campus post-secondary visits. Based on these visits and insights from students and parents, we then modify and update our individualized criteria and the next steps in their personalized postsecondary plan. In addition to our Self Program, which includes Career Awareness, Post- Secondary Searches, and Life After HS courses, our COACH program provides another layer of student support and guidance with post-secondary applications, college essays, and interview prep. Put these all together and what we have is a formula that leads us to the perfect placement for each of our students and the highest potential for our graduates to be successful beyond CHS.