Verdugo Hills High School WASC Self-Study Page 1

Verdugo Hills High School WASC/CDE Self-Study ReportThe School psychologist also consults with parents regarding individualstudent needs and provides referrals for community resources, includingwelfare, and maintains monthly logs of counseling cases for SpecialEducation students to document contacts regarding student welfare. Thepsychologist interfaces with community mental health professionals.School NurseVHHS currently has a school nurse four days a week. One of her primarygoals is to reduce the absenteeism of students, thereby increasing theirchances of academic success. All students entering Verdugo are required tobe cleared by the nurse to ensure that their immunizations are up to date.The school nurse also has final approval for all students participating in highschool sports. She ensures that all athletes have a legitimate physical screenand further scrutinizes any who are known to have certain conditions. Theschool nurse provides first aid and care to students that are injured orfeeling ill. The nurses’ office keeps visit cards on every student who entersthe health office to track their visits. The school nurse communicates aboutcertain students with teachers using written memos. These memos are sentto teachers to ensure that they know that one of their students has amedical issue. Memos are signed by all of the student’s teachers. The schoolnurse helps control injury and liability risk by administering first aid whennecessary, reporting suspected child abuse, and identifying additionalhealth-related problems. When a student first enrolls in the school, theymust be cleared through the Health Office to ensure that their immunizationsare correct and up to date. The nurse also helps reduce time spentout of the classroom by providing teachers with band-aids and sterilepackets.ImpactVerdugo Hills High School realizes that a student’s inability to performsuccessfully often stems from stresses, pressures, and problems outside ofthe academic curriculum or the high school facility. To assist students indeveloping better coping skills, Verdugo Hills incorporates the LAUSDprevention and early intervention program, IMPACT, in its support offered tostudents. Verdugo has an IMPACT coordinator on site as well as a number ofcredentialed staff trained in IMPACT counseling. IMPACT counselors meetwith students on a regular basis, either in-group or individual settings,Verdugo Hills High School WASC Self-Study Page 180