Advisory

The Role of the Upper School Advisor

Garrison Forest's advising program ensures that every student has a specific adult who knows her well and is particularly interested in her growth, happiness, and success in the Upper School.

Listening and Supporting

Advisors are available as resources and as sources of support. Advisors are not counselors, but rather well-informed adults who care and are willing to listen. Having someone who will act as a sounding board helps students to identify and articulate their own feelings about different issues. Advisors can strategize with advisees about how to approach teachers, peers, parents, or other individuals about a variety of topics. Advisors keep an eye on students’ well-being and when necessary recommend additional support from tutors, counselors, doctors, or other professionals.

Information and Organization

Advisors are particularly valuable resources for students who are new to the school, as these students know that they have a go-to person for their questions and concerns. As someone who is aware of the student’s interests and needs, the advisor guidesstudents to activities or programs that might be a good match. Advisors help all advisees to adjust to the demands of the particular grade level and course load. When necessary, advisors assist students with organizational issues such as time management or study skills.

Parent/Guardian Communication

Advisors are the main point of contact for parents with the school. They are the vehicle through which parents are informed of their daughter’s progress or difficulties and the first person a parent calls if they have a question or concern.

Academic Planning

Advisors and advisees work together to plan the student’s academic career at the school. The advisor helps the student to create a balanced schedule with appropriately challenging courses. The advisor makes sure that the student is taking advantage of all that the school offers in the academic areas that are of greatest importance to the student and also encourage the student to explore new fields of study.

Academic Strategizing

The advisor serves as the clearing house, keeping track of how the student is doing across the board in all of her classes and co-curriculars. When academic difficulties arise, the advisor will strategize with the student, the teacher, and the parents or guardians about the best way to address these concerns. Because the advisor is familiar with the student’s learning style, the advisor and advisee can determine which studying methods will work best for different types of material.

Disciplinary Discussions

When disciplinary issues arise, advisors and advisees often have productive discussions about rules and why the student is having trouble adhering to school policies.

Celebrating Growth

As someone who knows the student’s history and has been in close contact with the student throughout the year, the advisor is in a good position to recognize and celebrate the student’s growth and progress. Semester and end-of-year advisor comments help give parents and guardians a picture of their child’s academic and social development and role in the school community.

Relating

Many adults with whom the student is interacting are grading or evaluating that student. The advisor is someone who can simply show the student that he or she enjoys the student’s company and feels that the student is worth getting to know. The advisor/advisee relationship is often an extremely meaningful one for both advisor and advisee.

Upper School Advisor Group Meetings

Upper School advisor groups provide an opportunity for students to express their opinions, tell their stories, and share different sides of themselves.

Connections

Reading stories, discussing a school assembly, planning a skit, heading off campus for a change of scenery, conducting a campus clean-up: Advisor group activities like these give students a break from academic demands and enable groups to share experiences and build relationships. Upper School advisor groups allow students to interact with a group of their peers whom they might not otherwise get to know. The advising program provides each student with a connection to a small group and to an adult who specifically cares about her well-being.

Discussions

Advisor group time provides an opportunity for a variety of worthwhile activities and discussions. Early in the year, advisor group meetings help new students to learn about and adjust to the school culture. Advisees often talk about how it feels to get back into the swing of school life. They may discuss club and co-curricular participation that they are considering. As the year progresses, advisor groups often discuss student issues such as school events and policies. When the school year gets busy (which usually doesn’t take long!), advising periods are often used to remind students about what they need to do to for their own health and well being. Are they getting enough sleep? Are they managing their stress in healthy ways? How can they establish balance in their lives? Advising time can also simply be down time for students to take a break, relax together, chat, vent, snack, or play games.

Creations

Some of the meeting times are dedicated to all-Upper-School activities, such as the Recycling Runway Fashion show, Advisee Olympics, or a talent show. Some of the meeting times are devoted to service-related activities such as making pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer, assembling holiday gift bags for those in need, or supporting the Red Hand Campaign to prevent the use of child soldiers. Projects such as these can help students to get to know one another and discover each others’ strengths and talents.

Reflection

Advising time is also a time for students to reflect and to take stock. What courses or activities are they finding particularly rewarding? What new interests are they developing? What might they want to pursue in the future? How are their classes going? What are some of the problems or obstacles that they are facing? What would be a productive way to address those challenges?