FAQs

• To discuss academic concerns, social/emotional concerns, or behavioral issues
• To discuss a family issue, peer concern, or other individual student needs
• To obtain resources or community referrals
• To discuss post-secondary planning
• To discuss course selection

To make an appointment, students should email their school counselors with questions and/or requests to schedule an appointment. Counselors will respond to appointment requests as soon as possible, which may take up to two school days.

Click here to find NHS School Counselors contacts

In cases of emergency, counselors will do their best to meet with students as soon as possible. Should an emergency situation arise, students should ask their classroom teacher to call their school counselor to determine if he/she is available for an immediate appointment. 

There might be days when students will receive appointments that they did not schedule – such appointments might be scheduled by school counselors for grade review, course selection, post-secondary planning, etc. Students should be sure to show their passes to the teachers of the classes that they will be missing and they should be sure to collect and make up any work that they missed. If students receive an appointment that is scheduled during a period of a class that they feel they cannot miss, they should inform their counselor so that their appointment can be rescheduled for another time.

• Student has a core academic class missing from his/her schedule
• Student has not been correctly placed in a class (i.e. Honors, AP)
•  Student has an empty period in his/her schedule
• Student did not request an elective & wishes to make a change (students should be mindful that their first choices were not always possible to accommodate and that counselors may have deferred to alternate choices or made best elective choices based upon scheduling availability)
• Student has not taken a prerequisite for a class in his/her schedule
• Student is missing a graduation requirement from his/her schedule
• Student already took a class in his/her schedule

Reasons a Student Should NOT Seek their Counselor to make Scheduling Modifications:

• Student wants to move class to a different time (i.e. to accommodate an open-end or beginning or doesn’t want back-to-back PE classes or wants a different lunch shift)
• Student wants to change his/her Homeroom/Advisory
• Student wants to change a class because he/she doesn’t know anyone in that class or because someone he/she doesn’t get along with is in that class
• Student requested a course, but now has changed his/her mind and no longer wants to take the course (i.e. because he/she didn’t complete summer work or thinks the course will be too difficult, etc.) – courses will not be changed if the student selected them during his/her course-selection meeting with his/her counselor
• Student doesn’t like the teacher of a particular class

Students should email their school counselors regarding schedule changes. Students will need to be patient and will need to wait to be contacted, as it may take a few days to get everything sorted out.

Naviance Student is a web-based college and career portfolio that helps you plan and organize your high school career, as well as keep track of your post-secondary application process. Naviance allows students to learn about their strengths and reflect on their interests. Assessments provide suggestions on how to apply personality traits and learning styles in class, in addition to helping students discover career options based on their interests and strengths.

Click here to access Naviance. To reset your Naviance password, email your counselor. 

Counselors annually meet with each of their students individually during the time of course selection to discuss a four year plan for high school that will include course selection, potential career pathways, post-secondary ideas, and graduation requirements. Each year, the plan is reviewed and updated to reflect the needs of the student.

Parents are also encouraged to work closely with their child's school counselor to ensure that students are meeting graduation requirements. 

Graduation Requirements can be obtained via the Program of Studies.

College and Career Access and Affordability planning should begin as soon as 9th grade. Families should become aware of four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, career and technical Schools and online education including duration, preparation and cost.

Ideally, all students will be prepared to apply to post-secondary institutions and complete the FAFSA by October of their senior year.

Visit the College & Career Planning page.

Several Advanced, Honors and College level courses are available to all grade levels. Please see the Program of Studies for specific requirements.

Students can check “Scholarships and Money” in their Naviance account for a scholarship list.

There are also a plethora of other scholarship websites including:

• www.fastweb.com
• www.finaid.com
• www.collegenet.com
• and many more!

If you have more specific questions about scholarships, please see your school counselor. As soon as freshman year, students can join Raise.Me and begin to raise college scholarship money for their accomplishments. 

Seniors and juniors can sign up for information sessions with College Admissions Representatives on Naviance. Upcoming visits are listed on the homepage and the entire list can be found through the “College” tab under “College Research”. 

The Senior Internship Program will offer students a wide range of benefits, such as real-world experiences, career exploration, skills development, networking opportunities, resume building, community engagement, confidence building, personal growth, and career readiness. 

We invite all qualifying Senior Bears to explore this opportunity and to work hard throughout the year in the ABCs of being a Bear (90% Attendance, Behavior, and Credits) so that you can take advantage of the Senior Internship Program towards the end of your senior year.

Click here to learn more.

In the event your child fails or is denied credit in a course due to attendance, your child may be invited to enroll in Norwalk Public Schools’ Summer School. Summer school is limited to core academic courses (i.e. English, Math, Science, Social Studies) and may include certain required electives (i.e. PE, Health, Computer Applications).

If your child has failed/ lost credit in a course that is offered in summer school, you will receive a letter in the mail at the conclusion of the school year with directions on how to enroll your child and which courses they are recommended to take.   

Academics

Parents are always encouraged to talk with teachers about any difficulties that a student may have with a class to determine weaknesses and problem areas. It is also highly recommended that the student and teacher meet privately at a time that is convenient for both parties to address any concerns. After talking with the teacher, parents may then want to schedule a meeting with the school counselor to see what services are available that will best address academic problems.

You can monitor your student’s progress through the NPS Parent Portal.

PowerSchool Parent Portal Access Letter: Contact your child’s school counselor in order to obtain instructions on how to access your child’s grades and attendance via the parent PowerSchool portal.

Social and Emotional Health

Parents may contact the school counselor to request counseling to guide students to more productive actions at school and home and to assist students in problem-solving. School ounselors at all levels are trained to assist students with complex problems that may impact their academic, social and personal development.

Please note though that school counselors are not equipped to address issues that require long-term therapeutic or clinical interventions.

Attendance/Withdrawal

Parents should contact their child’s school counselor to decide on an appropriate course of action to keep students enrolled in school and attending regularly. The school counselor, the student, and the parent can review the student's academic profile and provide the student with information on available programs within the school, provide additional resources to the parent, or refer the student to alternative/community programs if necessary.

If you are interested in Student Working Papers, you may go to your high school and see

• The main office at NHS

What you need to bring:

• The Promise of Employment letter from your employer
• A form of identification: Certificate of Birth, Passport, or school ID

Note: The Superintendent’s Office does not issue working papers directly.

All students are welcomed and encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities. Click here for a full list of clubs offered at Norwalk High School.

Students need to listen for club announcements regarding meetings. Students are always encouraged to participate in clubs that are related to the courses that they are enrolled. Flyers for clubs are posted around the school building for various clubs, sports and activities.

GPA information may be obtained by requesting a copy of your high school transcript. Norwalk High School does not provide Class Ranking and now uses the Latin Honor System. 

Your student record contains much valuable information that includes standardized test results, SAT scores, and CAPT results, along with any interest inventories or other specialized evaluation instruments.

The following are the letter marks, which make up the marking system with a description of the academic performance corresponding to each mark.

Grading Glossary:

• Marks: Estimates of the student’s work as determined by the teacher of a particular subject.

• Weights: Numerical expression of Mark of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, P, F.

• Units of Credit: Points earned for subjects taken in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 are used for graduation requirements, admission to college, and determining scholastic honor roll.

• Quality Points: Result of multiplying the weight times the unit.

• Grade Point Average: A numerical average arrived at by dividing the quality points by the units.

• Incomplete: A rank of incomplete makes one ineligible for the Honor Roll until the mark is changed to a letter grade at which time the pupil will become eligible.  A student has ten school days to make up incomplete work or an incomplete becomes an “F” grade.

• Advanced Placement Program: Qualified highly-motivated students may take college-level subjects. Students are expected to take the Advanced Placement exam. More detailed information is available in the Guidance Office and through the school counselors.  Advanced Placement courses carry one additional point.  Advanced Placement courses may be open to underclassmen with special approval.

• Honors Courses:  An honors program for highly motivated and academically talented is available to all students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. It is generally recommended that students who elect this program a) demonstrate a high level of motivation for learning, b) have achieved A’s and B’s in related subject areas, and c) be recommended by a team consisting of teachers, counselors, and department chairpersons.

• Grade Level:  In order to be promoted to the next grade level students must accumulate a set number of credits per year.

• Semester:  An academic session constituting half of the academic year.

• Required Subjects:  Subjects necessary for graduation from high school.

• Elective Subjects:  Subjects selected in addition to required subjects in order to earn sufficient credits for graduation.

• Prerequisite Subjects:  Subjects that must be taken to qualify a student for more advanced subjects in the same area.

• Co-requisite Subjects:  Subjects that may be taken concurrently with sequential subjects.

Confidentiality is an important aspect of counseling. This is how the counselor builds trust with the student. What the child says during counseling is to remain between the counselor and the child unless:

1. The child is in imminent danger.
2. The child is threatening to harm him/herself or someone else.
3. The child reports an incident of abuse and/or neglect.
4. The child gives permission to disclose.

When a breach in confidentiality is necessary, the counselor would make a report to the appropriate agencies, support staff and/or parents depending on the situation.

Note: Our highest priority is to keep your student safe. School counselors and other school staff members are mandated reporters. Mandated reporters are required by law to report to CPS any time a student is suspected of being in danger.

PowerSchool Parent Portal offers parents the ability to access their child(ren)’s grades and attendance.  

• One parent portal account can be linked to all of your children
• You can set up notifications to be sent to your email
• The district will also be sending forms that you can complete via the parent portal
• Once your account is set up, you can use the mobile app for added convenience
• You can also see fee balances and lunch account balances

Reach out to your school counselor or house secretary to receive the Access Information needed to link your child(ren) to your account.

Click here to sign into the Parent Portal

To request a password reset, email powerschool@norwalkps.org.

For current student transcript requests, contact your school counselor regarding the policy for obtaining unofficial or official school transcripts.

Graduates of NHS within the past five years may request a transcript in person by visiting the NHS School Counseling Department or emailing Ms. Lecky at leckyl@norwalkps.org.

Download the Transcript Request Form

For those who graduated from NHS more than five years ago, click here for more information about Obtaining School Records from Norwalk Public Schools.