Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Counseling topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Counseling staff outline course-placement, FAFSA push, dual-credit and career programs
Summary
District counseling director Tiffany Luge presented a detailed overview of counseling services, course placement procedures, intervention programs, dual-credit arrangements and a FAFSA completion initiative that the department is tracking.
Tiffany Luge, director of school counseling for O'Fallon Township High School District 203, gave the board a comprehensive review of the district's counseling program, including staffing, student supports, placement procedures, dual-credit offerings and college- and career-readiness programming.
Luge said the counseling department now has seven counselors assigned across the Smiley and Millburn campuses; counselors are organized alphabetically at Smiley so students see the same counselor over multiple years. The department has rebranded from “guidance” to “school counseling” to align with Illinois State Board of Education and American School Counselor Association terminology and practice, Luge said.
On academic interventions, Luge described weekly ineligibility and periodic “DF” (D/F) reports pulled from Skyward to identify students failing multiple classes; district staff use those lists to refer students to the Academic Assistance Center, the math tutoring lab and peer tutoring. Counselors also collaborate with department chairs when grade patterns suggest grading or assignment issues in a specific class.
Luge walked the board through the course-selection lifecycle: feeder-school data collection (including standardized-test summaries), articulation with eighth-grade teachers, parent information sessions, in-person counselor meetings with every student and Skyward course-request entry. The district uses multiple measures for core-placement (IAR/Iowa results, current eighth-grade grades, teacher recommendations) and adjusts a placement rubric annually.
On college and career programs, Luge highlighted: a weekly FAFSA completion initiative she said is currently at about a 74% completion rate; an on-site admissions fair that drew roughly 70 students and produced instant admissions decisions and scholarships (including one full scholarship to SIU Carbondale); and the new CEO entrepreneurship program launching in 2025–26 with an inaugural cohort of 7 of 20 students. Luge also summarized a skilled-trades fair with more than 40 vendors and job-entry information for juniors and seniors.
Dual-credit programs include Saint Louis University’s SLU 1818 program and SWIC partnerships. Luge said SLU allocated funds to the district (the presentation noted “1,350” in SLU scholarship funds to assist students on free/reduced lunch), while SWIC dual credit included 24 unique courses this year, five of which were listed as broadly transferable under the Illinois Articulation Initiative. Luge and other staff explained that the Dual Credit Quality Act’s model partnership agreement gives the local community college a first right of refusal for dual-credit partners and that instructor-qualification requirements sometimes limit which classes can be approved for college credit.
Luge also presented program metrics: 360 students enrolled in AP courses, 251 students taking AP exams and 463 AP exams administered; the SLU and SWIC offerings, she said, generate measurable college-credit opportunities though transferability varies by receiving institution.
Board members asked clarifying questions about out-of-state transferability, placement for students new to the district and support for students who arrive midyear; Luge described the district’s processes and said counselors routinely adjust placements after enrollment when needed.
The report included several actionable items the counseling office will continue to track, including expanding on-site admissions offerings and refining the college- and career-readiness calendar.
