Welcome from the Counseling Center!

The Damascus Community School Counseling Center welcomes you to our page! We have information about courses and graduation requirements, study guides, AP courses, and general help pages. We hope you find what you are hunting for. If not, please contact the Counseling Office. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!

The Role of the DCS Counselor

The DCS Counselor strives to assist students in achieving success at DCS. Throughout the year the counselor gets to know students and remains involved with them throughout high school, providing ongoing guidance on academic, personal, extracurricular, and post-secondary options. College advising is expanded during the second half of the junior year and continues into the senior year as students and parents research schools, develop a college list, and apply to appropriate colleges.

Courses/Graduation Requirements:

In order to take full advantage of the curriculum at DCS and to prepare for a successful college experience, you should aim higher than the minimum graduation requirements. Admission officers at colleges and universities expect students to successfully complete a challenging set of courses. If you can do successful work in advanced courses, you should be taking them.

As important as it is to take challenging courses, it's equally important that courses be chosen in which your chances of success are good--while still allowing you time to be involved in an extracurricular area or two. Don't get in over your head. Earning D's or F's is never impressive in any course. Please seek advice from your teachers and counselor as you decide your high school course of study. We're all on the same team; we want you to be placed in courses where you will learn and be successful.

In spring of each high school year, you are asked to choose courses for both semesters of the next school year. During the registration process, your teachers will advise you as to which courses are appropriate for you, based upon your ability, performance, and future plans. Take their advice seriously and be certain to ask why they are recommending certain courses for you. Before you sign up for a course, you should be sure that you understand what the course will cover, what the prerequisites are, and whether or not there are any expectations beyond what might be considered "normal" for a course, such as additional labs, rehearsals, research, or readings. You should also make certain that you are eligible to take the course since not all courses are available to all grades. Courses are scheduled based upon student interest and the most effective utilization of teachers. We can NOT guarantee you will get all the courses you request, but we will try our very best to accommodate you.

Students who are new to DCS will meet with their counselor to develop their schedule. Choosing a course of study is best done by looking at the broad picture of what you hope to accomplish over the four years of high school. While it’s not necessary to have a four-year plan carved in stone, it is helpful to have at least a rough plan of the courses you might want to take through your senior year and to revise that plan each spring as you prepare to select courses for the coming school year. Choices made in grades nine, ten and eleven will impact the options you will have available later.

Required courses at DCS:

REMEMBER: Thirty (30) Community hours are required to graduate.
Note: ESL students may earn up to three English credits through their ESL classes; the fourth credit must be in mainstream English at the level of English 10 or higher.

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Courses and Credits:

A “*” indicates a REQUIRED course needed to graduate. The courses that do not have an “*”, it's the student’s choice.

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. . . and now on to the good stuff!

I am including the following information for those who feel they need some help with the never ending struggle with how to study better, faster, and smarter. There ARE strategies out there that work, really. If you know of any sites on the net that you like, please let me know, and we’ll add it to our list.

Study Guide:

Every quarter you promise yourself that this time "I'm going to get better grades." The reality is that you have to do more than just tell yourself you want to do better if you are going to see a better report card. The following are some sites that can help you figure out what you can do to change your words into action. There is no better time than now to make a change in your study habits.

For Students

These are some internet sites that are helpful for students who want to improve their study skills. What works for one person is totally dull for another so please check them all out. Also, as with all internet sites, be careful about sales pitches that seem to always be a part of every site. Just read and use what is offered for free!!!

*One of my personal all time favorite places on the net is www.About.com. It is full of information and help on homework, studying, and just about everything.

*This guide, “Study Strategies”, is written for students at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. It contains a lot of helpful information for high school students who want to improve their study habits. The net address is www.d.umn.edu/student/loon/acad/strat/

*This guide, “The Importance of Studying”, written by Dr. Bob Kizlik,, is designed to help you develop effective study skills. The net address is www.adprima.com/studyout.htm

For Parents

The AP:

DCS offers 7-8 Advanced Placement (AP) courses (some are offered on alternate years) for students who wish to pursue college-level study while they are still in high school: U.S. History, Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Composition, English Literature, Calculus and French. The AP program is a cooperative educational endeavor between high schools and colleges and universities. It gives motivated and dedicated students exposure to college-level material, and gives them the opportunity to show what they have learned by taking an AP exam. Based on exam scores, colleges may choose to grant credit, advanced placement, or both. Students who enroll in AP courses sit for the AP exams in May.
A student who wishes to enroll in AP courses will be expected to undertake rigorous and sophisticated assignments and to work independently. Most AP courses require multiple page papers and research. It is important to be realistic about the level and number of AP courses a student can take and still be successful. While students can ultimately decide whether or not to take a particular AP course, they are advised to give serious consideration to the recommendations of their subject area teachers.

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