Counselor Motivates Potential Dropout

Rasetra Haulcy is just completing her first year at Oxnard High School, but already she is considered a success story.

Last fall, the ninth-grade student was on a list of students who were considered “at risk”--in danger of leaving school before graduation because of problems at home, low self-esteem, or the need to work long hours outside school to help make ends meet.

Haulcy, 16, got mostly Cs while a student at Fremont Intermediate School. Her problem, she said, was a lack of motivation.

“I didn’t like school, I was bored,” Haulcy said. “A lot of times I’d sit in class and daydream, just thinking about anything but being in school. If they talked about something I wasn’t interested in, I’d just tune out.”

Even though she wasn’t failing, counselors realized that Haulcy was slipping away, losing interest in school at a time counselors say is crucial in academic development--around the ninth grade. Haulcy said she wasn’t thinking of dropping out, but counselors said the odds were against her.

But when Haulcy got to Oxnard High, it was a different story.

Avelina Coriell, an outreach counselor at Oxnard High School, started one-on-one counseling sessions with Haulcy, encouraging her to read and explaining why it was important, and meeting with her mother to discuss Haulcy’s progress.

“There are students who for some reason can’t get beyond a D,” said Coriell, who runs the school’s dropout prevention program, which is funded by a grant from the state Department of Education. She tries to encourage students to achieve small successes, which can lead to greater success later on.

“You’ve got to praise that person,” Coriell said. “They need everything we can throw their way to motivate them. It almost has to be done daily.” Coriell sends flyers to her high-risk students bearing notes such as, “You can make it,” and, “Thanks for being here.”

Now, Haulcy gets As and Bs, and an occasional C, on her report cards. More important, she said, she has a new interest in school and a desire to do better. Next year, she will be a role model and peer counselor for incoming freshmen.

“I’m going to try because I want to get a good job,” said Haulcy, who hopes to be a buyer for a department store. “For a kid to be motivated, you have to give them a goal to want to reach, something to make them want to work for it.”