Madison school counselors outline expanded college planning, testing and student-support services

Jen Haldier, the district’s school counseling coordinator, told the Madison Board of Education that the counseling office is focusing less on raw test numbers and more on direct student support and planning. “We really want you to see what we do, and what we offer the students,” Haldier said.

The counselors described a suite of practical changes and services they said are intended to streamline postsecondary planning and daily student support. Those include adopting School Links to replace Naviance for college searches and application tracking; routine proctoring of AP exams and the school-day SAT for juniors; a summer “common application” workshop that helps students complete application forms; and a growing set of employer and internship connections including Electric Boat and regional trade programs.

Why it matters: the counseling office is the primary school-based resource families use to navigate college admissions, test registration and day-to-day student wellness. Counselors said the new technology and expanded programming aim to reduce application errors and late submissions while increasing access to internships and vocational pathways.

The School Links platform, the counselors said, lets students and parents track application deadlines, request recommenders per school, and see a college-fit assessment (reach/target/safety) based on uploaded GPA and test data. “We got rid of Naviance this year and started something new and I think it’s been a very positive thing,” said Chrissy Coyle, the district’s college and career counselor.

Counselors walked the board through operational details: Daniel Hand High School proctors roughly 19 different AP exams during the May 5–16 AP window and will administer the digital SAT to juniors on March 19 and March 26 (the district splits students alphabetically across the two dates). The office also runs a capped summer common-application workshop (two two-hour sessions, typically 15–20 students) to help students complete application profiles and basic fields so the main outstanding item after the workshop is usually the college essay.

Student support and screening were also highlighted. Counselors described emergency response work, coordination with DCF protocols when required, and an internal Bemis behavioral-rating scale used to screen mental-health needs; staff plan to administer that scale twice during the year and proactively check in with students who reach clinical thresholds. The school uses a biweekly Student Support Team (SST) of educators, counselors and specialists to plan targeted interventions and an attendance committee to address credit loss tied to chronic absence.

Counseling staff emphasized outreach and experiential learning: field trips to local technical schools and industry partners, a STEM symposium with hands-on activities, and a career expo that brought roughly 60 professionals to campus. The counselors said seven seniors interviewed successfully for full-time jobs with Electric Boat during a recent application day.

On family engagement and workflow, counselors noted multiple communication tools: grade-level Google Classrooms, Calendly appointment links for students, and weekly principal e-notify messages. They reported active efforts to enroll families and students in School Links; counselors said parent uptake has improved compared with Naviance.

The presentation closed with invitations for community volunteers to host job shadows, internships and career-expo stations and with an outline of upcoming events: the district’s post-secondary showcase in April and a “future planning day” in May with workshops on admissions, financial aid and career options.

Board members praised the counselors’ work and the new software adoption, saying the combination of deeper personal advising and better tracking should reduce missed deadlines and improve student outcomes.