NP High School also recognized nationally as a RAMP recipient

BAINBRIDGE -- Just as Roachdale Elementary School’s counseling program was recognized for its initiatives to better serve students, counselors at North Putnam High School also received like praise for their work.

While Roachdale Elementary was the only elementary school in Putnam County to earn distinction by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) with its Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation, North Putnam High School was the only high school in the county to receive the honor.

The designation is awarded to schools which deliver a comprehensive, data-driven counseling program that aligns with the ASCA National Model, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) in a recent press statement.

With regards to efforts to help students determine their interests and goals after high school, North Putnam High School counselor Lauren Alspaugh related that the counseling program had to meet standards that had been set by her, counselor Amy Certain and other faculty and staff.

Both North Putnam High School and Roachdale Elementary received a more local designation as Indiana Gold Star Schools, which demonstrated that they had aligned their counseling programs with standards set by the Indiana School Counselor Association (ISCA). These designations allowed them to apply for the RAMP award, which both schools eventually won.

In a similar fashion to the efforts seen at Roachdale Elementary, Alspaugh related that their initiatives were driven by community support.

“We wanted to better meet the needs of students in the community,” she said, “so we had the stakeholders come in and help us figure out what those needs were.”

Fruitful input came from the advisory committees that were made up of community members, including parents, business owners and organizations like the Putnam County Community Foundation. Alspaugh said that these meetings were intended to show students how important they were.

Some of the programs set up at North Putnam High School include what Alspaugh called Freshman and Senior Seminars. These are opportunities for students to learn about important skills they will need after high school. The program brings in community members involved in local business, as well as college representatives and those performing a trade.

Alspaugh said that particular focus is given to the high school freshmen so that they are prepared at the start.

“Freshman year is important,” she said, “so we have this program to help get them off on the right start to make the best of their high school career.”

Another program that has been implemented at the high school involve short sessions where teachers get in front of small groups of their students and establish working relationships. These sessions are intended to build teamwork skills, and to help students be able to trust their teachers.

These programs have allowed the counseling services at North Putnam High School to give students a better foundation, and the RAMP designation recognizes the hard work that has been put into them.

“We’re just proud of the work we’ve done with our program,” Alspaugh said. “We’ll continue to get better to meet the needs of students, and reach those goals that we have set.”