The halls of State High are filled with freshmen, each with their own stories and struggles that they deal with year-round. The struggles that they go through in their first year can become the catalysts for difficulties throughout high school. There are a number of resources at State High that offer help to students, but students have differing opinions on them. 

The transition to high school can be a mix of good and bad, something freshman Iris Thomas pointed out. 

“People are trifling in this school, and that’s the bad part,” Thomas stated. “The positive part is that I’ve made new friends. […] It’s a good opportunity to discover who you are and what you want to be. […] We have a lot of privilege in this school with the amount of opportunities that we have that people don’t realize.” 

However, even with these opportunities, a lot of students are having some trouble adjusting and keeping their mental health and grades up. With these struggles, a lot of people believe the school isn’t doing enough to offer help. Ninth grade counselor Jessica Zorger explained how the school puts in effort to make the 9th grade year as smooth as possible.

“We’re going to do whatever we can do in order to make this as smooth of a transition as possible,” Zorger said. Zorger went on to explain how different situations warrant the use of different resources.

“If it’s something that deals with mental health, then we’re gonna seek our outside resources. […] If it’s academic related, then that’s going to look a little different,” Zorger said.

There are a number of ways that SCAHS handles situations, whether that’s contacting the H.O.M.E office, contacting parents, suggesting centers to help with specific classes, or just listening to students’ issues. 

These resources seem to be enough for some students, such as freshman Erin Judy. “I think that counselors are a big help,” Judy said. “Just talking about things kind of helps.”

On the other hand, some students like Thomas believe that the school only cares about students when it benefits them.

“I think they care more about your mental health after you do something,” Iris said. Iris feels as though the school environment isn’t the best for the freshman community, and that students support beyond what’s currently offered. 

If you have any ideas or suggestions for the counselors regarding other help they can make available to students, stop by the counseling office, located in room E150, with your ideas.