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Guidance includes a variety of services, all of which are concerned with the mental, emotional, and personal growth of the students. The most important of these services, counseling, is characterized by a confidential, accepting relationship between student and counselor. Following the guidelines for confidentiality set by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), counselors set the norm of confidentiality early in the conference with the aim of establishing a relationship in an atmosphere of trust.

Counselors use prevention and crisis intervention approaches in their counseling. The prevention approaches consider the developmental needs of all students and concentrate on the mastery of important coping skills. A grade 7 Guidance course, a grade 9 Life Skills course, a grade 12 guidance elective, the new student orientation program, and student support groups are examples of prevention programs.

Counselors also employ crisis intervention strategies in order to meet the more immediate needs of individual students. Counselors help students understand themselves and their problems, but the primary responsibility for making decisions rests with the students. A consultant to the school, a clinical psychologist, visits the school every other week to assist the counselors in their work with these students and to offer suggestions for outside referrals.

Counselors There is a K-3 counselor, a grades 4-6 counselor, a counselor for each grade level, grades 7-12, and a college counselor. The student/counselor ratio in the Lower School is 270 students per counselor and in the Upper School 180 students per counselor.

Individual Counseling

The counselors meet all students in their particular grade level(s) during the course of their first year together. New students and students with academic, personal, or developmental needs receive additional individual attention.

Counselors work closely with each other, the faculty and the administration to ensure that special concerns are handled appropriately and consistently. At the end of each quarter, all teachers of a particular grade level meet with the counselor and administrators to commend students and to assist students with special needs, both academic and personal.

Student Support Groups

Support group counseling is an integral part of the Guidance program. All students may join an appropriate group, and their participation and verbal sharing are confidential within the limits mandated by law and established by the profession's ethical standards. The groups include Families in Transition, New Student Support, Friendship, Study Skills, Death and Dying, and Sharing. They are held at various times during the school year, according to interest expressed by the students; 8-12 students make up each group.

New Student Orientation

In August, new students come to Iolani to meet school personnel and other new students in their homeroom, tour the campus and learn study skills. Counselors meet with small groups of new students in September to answer questions about academic and extracurricular activities.

Guidance Courses

All students take a 9-week guidance course in 7th grade and a 6-week rotation in the semester Life Skills course in the 9th grade. The 7th grade course focuses on building self-esteem, discussing friendship issues, increasing assertiveness, learning about the changes of adolescence, and practicing proper etiquette. The 9th grade guidance rotation concentrates on self-awareness, decision making, and college and career exploration. In addition, an elective course for seniors, Guidance Issues, focuses on the personal, academic, social, and health issues these students are likely to face in college. Counselors teach the guidance courses, allowing them to be acquainted with many students in a classroom setting while teaching important life skills.

Volunteer Tutoring

Older students volunteer their time to help younger students with courses that give them difficulty. They tutor in a proctored classroom during their study hall periods at no cost to the students or parents. Upperclass students also act as Big Brothers and Sisters to Lower School students.

Academic Support Services.

The Counseling Department offers additional assistance to those students experiencing academic difficulties. Progress reports, after school study hall, conferences with parents, the Writing Lab, and reading class are all available to help motivate students.


For more information about the counseling and guidance program, please email the Director of Counseling, Michael Higashi, at mhigashi@iolani.org.