The Oakmont Guided Assistance Program (G.A.P.) offers a wide range of services to individual students and groups. The program exists to support students through social/emotional challenges that interfere with academic achievement and the high school experience. The Intervention Counselor and social work interns (university students) offer counseling, curriculum based interventions, and support to students in a variety of formats. These staff members interact with school personnel and families providing information concerning individual student issues, mental health, and work to remove social/emotional barriers to student learning and support student achievement.
G.A.P. offers the following core services:
Every week, students who are referred to Guided Assistance Program are asked to complete a progress report form. This form includes a grade check with teachers, support in finding and making up missed assignments and a place to report their success that week. Students may also use the form to request additional counseling services. Forms are due every Tuesday to Mr. Morgan in room P-19. If the progress report is not received by the time it is due, the student will be required complete their check-in at lunch the next day using “Homelink” to assess the progress for the week. If a student chooses not to attend supervised lunch they will be assigned an after school detention through the Assistant Principal's office.
Counseling and social work services include one or more brief goal oriented counseling sessions. These meetings will often include curriculum based interventions implemented by the counselor/social worker, student, and/or school personnel.
Family Support Team facilitation is a process used to help students and families who are experiencing challenges that affect academic success. By identifying natural and community family supports, the student and family needs are identified. Using a team approach, a plan is developed to address the needs and assist the family through those challenges. Click here for more information about Family Support Teams.
The Guided Assistance Program provides assistance identifying and accessing low and no cost community services offered by local mental health, substance abuse prevention and other community service providers. This includes a Community Resource Wall in classroom P-19 that is available to students at both lunches and after school as well as OHS Community Resources online.
Peer helpers are students who have been recommended by staff to be trained to come alongside and make connections with other students and facilitate a positive high school experience. All freshmen are assigned a peer helper who they will meet with at least once. Ninth and tenth grade students can also request to see a peer helper on a regular basis.
Eligibility to Receive G.A.P. Services:
The services offered by the Guided Assistance Program vary based on student needs and are often recommended by Oakmont’s Intervention Response Team. Oakmont’s Comprehensive School Counselors, Intervention Counselors, School Psychologist, and Special Services Coordinator are all members of the collaborative Intervention Response Team (I.R.T.) that meets weekly to address student needs. The Intervention Response Team uses a tiered process of interventions that allows the school to identify struggling students early and provide appropriate instructional and behavioral interventions. Early intervention means more chances for success and less opportunity to fall behind.
Times, length of involvement, and activities are flexible and are scheduled to maximize student functioning and minimize disruption of the student’s day. Counselors, administrators, students, parents, social work interns, and other school personnel may all play a role in determining how services are used.
