Panther Prints | Issue 2 | December 2019

@PESHPRINTS News • 5
SMU counseling available to district
by Sevval Erenkol
n an effort to support the growth of men-
health awareness, the district teamed
Ital
up with Southern Methodist University to
provide counseling
sessions and mediation
services to the
students, staff and
residents of Plano.
Fees for the sessions
work on a sliding
scale, meaning
families can request
conflict-resolution
services based on
their income level,
starting at no cost
and going up to $45
per session.
75%
of students
think out-of-school counseling
or therapy is a necessity for
them or someone they know
out of 448 students polled
“We’re always
looking for more
[low-cost] opportunities
to provide for
our families,” PISD
Director of Guidance and Education Services
Jana Hancock said. “We think it’ll be
a great benefit to our students and parents
to have this option available for them
close by.”
Graduate students or dispute-resolution
interns hold the sessions while SMU
faculty supervises them. The counselors
have weekly discussions with their
mentors to ensure their patients are on
the right track. Since the clinic opened in
September, they have seen
a significant amount of interest
from the community.
“We were so overwhelmed
with the number
of calls that came in at the
beginning,” Clinic supervisor
and SMU Adjunct Professor
Farnoosh Faith Nouri
said. “We’re trying to make
sure everybody’s needs
[are] being accommodated
and that’s been more challenging
now.”
The clinic at the Cox
Building offers an abundance
of services such as
couples’ medi- ation,
play and ac- tivity
therapy for children
and teenagers, and
family therapy for cases
of anxiety, depression
and grief. Counseling
sessions are available
on Wednesdays and
Thursdays while conflict
resolution services are
available Monday through Friday, both
of which can be scheduled by phone. In
order to take advantage of the extra support,
the school’s counselors have begun
referring students to the clinic.
“We do help with personal issues, but
we’re not therapists,” school guidance
counselor Jinnetter Dixon said. “[Students]
come in with emotional stress or
trauma in some form or shape, and it’s always
good to have additional resources.
The difference is this [new counselor] is
someone they will be seeing [on an] ongoing
[basis].”
Hancock believes people with either
situational or continuous difficulties could
benefit by having a support system that
assists them in finding ways to cope.
“This is just one of a number of services
that we’re trying to expand and
make available to people in all parts of
the district,” Hancock said. “We’re excited
about this clinic moving in.”
ACT to offer new testing options fall 2020
by Alexa Dezelan
he ACT plans to provide students
Twith the option to take the exam
online starting September 2020. Additionally,
they will now offer section
retakes for students who may have
a weaker score in one subject from
a previous exam.
However, this only benefits the
score if the college superscores the
ACT, or totals their highest scores
from science, math, reading and English
sections. Moreover, those who
take the exam on the computer would
be able to find out their score within
two days.
“I believe [retaking] would benefit
my score,” junior Tien Huynh said. “If I
didn’t do as well as I thought I did previously,
I can improve specifically on
the section I didn’t do as well on.”
Supporters believe the option to retake
one section can relieve pressure.
“I would study more if I only had to
retake a section because it would be
less stressful on me,” junior Kendra
Ready said.
The new options for the ACT will be
available for future classes, starting
with the class of 2021, but seniors will
not be able to take the new version of
the exam, even though many think it
Call (469) 752-3098 for counseling
and (214) 768-5687 for
conflict resolution
could have helped improve their score.
“I think taking this test in parts
would have helped me more because
taking the [whole] test is such
a long process,” senior Lillie Scantlan
said.“[Instead], if I [could retake] one
section that I messed up on, it would
benefit me.”
Despite seniors’ frustration, some
hope underclassmen will take advantage
of the opportunity to retake
a section or take the entire exam
via computer.
“I would start taking the test [before
your senior year] because if you
take it too late then you might not have
many opportunities to get a better
score,” senior Tyrone Walker said. “I
would focus on what my weaknesses
[are] and I would definitely study more
and split the test up into different days
if I could.”
According to American Test Anxieties
Association, around 16 to 20% of
students experience test anxiety. Because
of this, seniors and underclassmen
alike feel the updated version of
the ACT may help students who have
test anxiety or have trouble taking
standardized tests.
“It would be less stress on me instead
of having to study for the whole
test, which would be just as stressful,
[so I’d want to] avoid that at all costs,”
Ready said.
64%
25%
of students
favor the
new policy
of students
think having to
retake the whole
test instead of one
section could
benefit their score
out of 448 students polled