Wilson High School
Counseling Department
Quick Links to Counseling ResourcesCounselor's Corner: Extra Tips from the Counseling Department
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Welcome to the Wilson Counseling Department
What We Do
Counselors help students and their families create a plan to meet each student's individual goals for graduation, college and career, and then monitor students' progress over their high school career, providing the support and resources needed to achieve those goals. Counselors also provide valuable assistance to students and families dealing with issues such as mental health challenges, traumatic family events, or other psycho-social issues that may affect academic achievement.
We love to see students in person and there are many ways to make this happen! Schedule an appointment with Ms. Dailey or directly with your counselor via email, or drop in, especially during lunch, before or after school, or during a free period. If your counselor is busy with another student when you drop in, please leave a note or talk with Ms. Dailey. You can also email your counselor regarding your question or even just leave a note on the door!
How to Contact Us
For parents and guardians, we ask that you schedule an appointment or send us an email or leave a phone message. If it is ever urgent that you speak with us concerning your student's safety, please contact Sharon Dailey and give her the message for us.
Who's My Counselor?
Students are assigned to counselors by last name, and stay with the same counselor over their high school career. Scroll down to see who your counselor is.
Saturday School
Wilson Library, 9-11:30 (doors lock at 9:30)
(503) 916-5280 x75271
September 24
October 8, 22, 29
November 5, 19
December 3, 10
January 7, 21
February 4, 18
March 4, 18
April 15, 29
May 6, 20
Meet the Counseling Department Staff
Sharon Dailey |
Counseling Department Secretary email: sdailey@pps.net Sharon Dailey grew up in Hawaii and graduated from University of Portland. She loves working with the staff and students at Wilson in the Counseling Office. She joined the staff at Wilson in 2008. In her spare time she enjoys being with her family, three kids and their spouses and grandchildren. She loves getting back to Hawaii every year, gardening, exercising, tennis and watersports.
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Maureen Brennan |
Social Worker email: mbrennan@pps.net Maureen Brennan grew up in Beaverton and graduated from Portland State University with a BS in Social Work. She went on to receive her MSW from Portland State University. Maureen has worked with young children in day treatment, was a child and family therapist and a protective services worker for DHS in Washington County. For over 17 years, Maureen was a program manager and supervisor for Outside In's Street Youth Program. Community services and resource development are Maureen's passions and areas of interest, linking students and families to services to meet their many physical, social and emotional needs and to help them achieve self-sufficiency and academic success. Most recently, Maureen was a case manager with Clackamas County Behavioral Health. When not working, Maureen enjoys travel, movies, art and eating out. |
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COUNSELORS |
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| STUDENT LAST NAMES A - C | |
Sheila Kendall |
Counselor email: skendall@pps.net Sheila grew up in Ashland, Oregon, and then attended Pacific University in Forest Grove to earn her bachelor’s degree. She stayed at Pacific after graduating and worked as an Admissions Counselor, recruiting students to Pacific from around Oregon, Washington and Colorado. After earning her Masters in Counselor Education from Portland State University, she lived in Amsterdam for a year working at the International School and traveling around Europe. After returning, she began work at Tigard High where she was a counselor for 15 years. Sheila is thrilled to be at Wilson now, working and living in the community. Sheila has two children, three and four, who keep life very exciting, but when she has a free moment she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and biking, and taking trips to the beach with the family.
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| STUDENT LAST NAMES D - H | |
Keith Brown |
Counselor email: kbrown@pps.net Keith Brown grew up in Florida and graduated with a BS in science education from The Florida State University in 1989. Before moving to Portland in 1997, he earned his master’s degree in mental health counseling from the University of Central Florida. He taught biology, anatomy and physiology, algebra and geometry over a thirteen year period before moving into school counseling. Since 2002 he has worked as a high school counselor and he joined the Wilson staff in 2006. Teaching remains a passion for him and you can often find him tutoring students in his office.
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| STUDENT LAST NAMES I - M | |
Julie Fleming |
Counselor email: jfleming1@pps.net Julie Fleming is proud to say she’s a native Oregonian. She grew up attending public schools in Beaverton. Julie then made her way down to University of Oregon where she earned a B.S. in Family and Human Services in 2001. From there, Julie worked as an adolescent counselor and group leader at a local drug/alcohol residential facility for three years before deciding to go back to school. Julie attended Lewis and Clark College, earning her Masters of Education degree in School Counseling in 2006. She joined the Wilson staff in 2007! In her spare time, she enjoys being with her husband, Austin and two children Kellen and Hayden. She also loves the DUCKS, camping, crafting, running, and snowboarding.
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| STUDENT LAST NAMES N - Sn | |
Danny Bradach |
Counselor email: dbradach@pps.net Born and raised in Portland, Danny Bradach attended Oregon State University and graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies. After OSU, he attended Lewis & Clark College, where he earned his M. Ed. degree in School Counseling. He earned a second master’s degree in Athletic Administration from Western Kentucky University. Danny began his school counseling career in 2008-09 at Madison High School, and has also worked at Marshall High School and Parkrose High School. He is excited to be joining the great staff at Wilson High School. In his free time, Danny enjoys spending time with his wife and three-year-old son, watching and coaching sports, cooking, and cheering for the OSU Beavers.
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| STUDENT LAST NAMES So - Z | |
Kathryn Wolff |
Counselor email: kwolff@pps.net Kathryn Wolff moved to Oregon from Colorado in 2004. She earned a B.S. from the University of California, Davis and a M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University with a focus on grief and loss. She spent the next eighteen years working in open adoption, parent education, and developing peer education programs in schools. In 2002, she returned to CSU to become a high school counselor. She loves working at Wilson where she’s been a counselor since 2007. Kathryn is enthusiastic about the Peer Counseling program started in 2013. She devotes her spare time to her large extended family, exercise, cooking, traveling and gardening. |
Counselor's Corner
Wilson counselors have a combined length of experience of over 75 years of helping teens and their parents navigate the high school experience. Check back here periodically for information, advice, and helpful tips.
November 2015
Now that it’s November, first quarter report cards are home. Your student’s report card could serve as a sign that study/homework habits may need reviewing, revamping, or in many cases—rewarding! Following is a checklist of things to do or keep in mind to support your high school student.
- Keep it positive. Kids may hear negative words or see ways in which they feel they are not measuring up to expectations. They may even be disappointing themselves. All of this can depress, deplete energy, and foster a sense of uselessness and hopelessness, if not rebellion. Teens need words of encouragement such as, “I see you making your best effort”, or “I can see you really care about this”, or “I believe you can do this if you put your mind to it.”
- Focus on the good, or acceptable/improving grades. Think about one of your job reviews. If your boss focused only on where you needed to improve, how do would you feel? On the other hand, if your boss praises you on the areas in which you did well, or are improving, wouldn’t that motivate you to continue to do your best in all aspects of your job? If you can praise your student for even one good grade it will help your son or daughter feel good. The rest will begin to improve also. What we choose to focus on generally grows. This doesn’t happen in an instant, but the more consistent you can be in recognizing the good things your student is doing, the sooner you will see improvement across the board.
- Ask your student how they accomplished that good grade. If your teen answers with something like, “I dunno” continue fishing. Did you study? Did you read the chapters? Did you do the assignments? Did you use tutor time? Did you ask someone for help? You want them to verbalize what they did in their own voice. “Well, I did study longer for that exam.” Do this regularly when any good grade (homework, quiz, test, or whatever) comes home. When students hear their own voice saying what they did it has multiple positive impacts. This works much more effectively than when they just listen to you telling them what they did or should do to get better grades.
- Reward progress. Find ways other than money to reward your student’s effort in school. For example, make their favorite cookies, or have a special dinner, or allow them to choose a movie you’ll watch together. Celebrate improvement in attendance, effort, grades, and attitude. Don’t wait for a report card with all A’s to acknowledge the good things your teen is doing along the way.
- Show your interest in them. Even if your student seems to be aloof, or even rejecting of your interest in them, don’t be fooled! They yearn for our interest, as long as it is not pushy or invasive. Ask friendly questions, such as, “What are you guys doing in English class these days?”, or “Tell me more about that”, or “What was the best/worst/funniest thing that happened at school today?” Just make sure you’ve set aside time to hear the response. Once you get them talking, they may want to go on for a while when they know you are listening with an open heart and mind.
- Help your student study. No, this job did not end in 6th grade! You already know to take an interest in what they are learning, right? Now offer to quiz them before a test that’s coming up, offer to listen to their presentation or speech, read their paper or lab write up. I’ve noticed that we parents have an added benefit from this in high school—we are reminded of interesting things!
- Encourage your student to seek out help when needed. Self-advocacy is one of the important skills kids need to learn in high school. Model for your kids that it is OK to ask for help when you need it. We have tutors at school and other opportunities for academic support. A great place to begin to learn about these supports is by having your son or daughter talk with their school counselor.
- Don’t forget how important your approval is to your teen. Saying “I am so proud of you” is very important. And, equally important is to say, “You must feel so proud of yourself! This helps your students to recognize an often overlooked or unfamiliar pride for having done something well. Bringing this to your child’s attention helps them to develop a system of intrinsic reward—doing things for the good feeling of accomplishment regardless of the recognition of others. This is a key element of your student’s ability to self-motivate.
A Parent’s Guide to High School: How To Survive Their High School Experience
We all remember our high school experience with varying degrees of joy and misery. High school is harder—both socially and academically—than any previous school experience. And we’re not just talking about the students. As parents, you are trying to support their need for independence with the increased rigor of classes. You know that these years really matter when it comes to choices later on. Yet, you want them to still be kids and to have fun.
It’s a tough balance when they insist on making their own decisions about their future, but still want you to make their lunch and drive them to school when they get up late. This is a tough age.
Here are a few tips for YOU on surviving their years at Wilson High School.
Communication
Tired of the monosyllabic grunts? Tired of the ubiquitous “fine” when you ask them anything about their day? Ask leading questions. Instead of asking “how was your day?” try asking what they are studying in science right now, or what book they are reading in English.
Communicate indirectly. Sometimes, to be heard, you need to write a letter so your kids can digest your thoughts on their own time when they are less defensive and more open to what you have to say.
Use Wilson staff as a resource. Working with your teachers, counselors, and administrators is key in the ever-complex world of secondary education. We certainly can’t do our job without your support at home. Equally, communicate with us when you have concerns or questions.
Homework
Assume they do have homework. Instead of asking “do you have any homework?” ask “what is your homework this weekend?” Better yet, ask to see their homework. If they continuously say they don’t have any or they did it at school, you might suspect that there’s something wrong with that picture. Email teachers and consult Synergy to check in about this.
Organization
It’s really not their fault they are disorganized. Certainly, there are degrees, but remember their brain is not fully wired yet, so the ability to plan ahead is not fully developed. You can help them by creating a plan for remembering things. Do they use a planner? Can you place a large notice board at home, so you can all keep track? Do their teachers use the web to post calendars or assignments?
Bite-sized pieces are easier to swallow. Help them break their assignments to projects into more manageable pieces to avoid that feeling of being overwhelmed. Again, these management skills are not yet fully baked in the adolescent brain, so have patience.
Mind-Body Balance
- Sadly, too much for their school day is spent sitting and listening. The brain and body need time to absorb and process all the information they receive. Encourage exercise every day.
- It’s an old but a good one: Their brain needs food to function—don’t forget a breakfast that includes protein and complex carbohydrates.
- Consider helping them to limit their screen time, particularly before bed. Students who turn off all screens at least 30 minutes before bed have better sleep and are more rested than those who don’t.
Final Thoughts
Parents are still the most important, influential people in your teen’s life. Despite how it may seem, their friends are not their biggest influence. Nor is mass media. It’s you! Your opinions still carry the most weight. When asked who makes the biggest difference in their lives, teens overwhelmingly name YOU as their source of support, inspiration and learning.
