Resources

STARS Guide
STARS stands for Statewide Transfer and Articulation Reporting System. The STARS System allows public two-year students in Alabama to obtain a Transfer Guide/Agreement for the major of their choice. This guide/agreement, if used correctly, guides the student through their first two years of coursework and prevents loss of credit hours upon transfer to the appropriate public four-year university in Alabama. Although transfer guides/agreements can only be printed for two-year to four-year transfers, the STARS system can still provide guidance and direction to transfer students who have a different transfer situation. If you have any questions about the STARS Guide, see Mr. Deavers in the OMHS Counseling Center.

Getting In
Getting In helps guide you through the admissions and financial aid processes. It’s easy to use. Getting In provides general information and guidelines you’ll need to begin planning for education or training after high school. You’ll also find helpful information on how to finance your college education; what kinds of financial aid are available and how you can qualify. You’ll also find information on Alabama colleges, universities and trade schools.

College Navigator
College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others get information about over 7,000 colleges from the US Department of Education database.

Consumer Affairs Best Colleges
Consumer Affairs put together a list of online colleges that includes whether the school is accredited, the degrees awarded and which types of students would get the most out of the program. The consumer watchdog website offers a basic lay of the land and advice on what students should consider before selecting an online program.

Washington Post Go to Websites for the College Search
Great information to help you in the college search process

Career Websites
It is never too early to begin thinking about your career. The following websites can help you identify your career strengths and weaknesses, your interests, and your values.

Mapping Your Future
Here you can explore careers, prepare for college (help with selecting a school and applying for admission), pay for college (financial aid), and manage your money (student loans and more).

O-Net Online Center
O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more!

Alabama Works – Alabama Works stands for opportunity, innovation, accountability and inclusion with the vision of a better future for Alabama in which communities, business, and industry are supported in a collaborative process to build prosperity through the opportunity of meaningful work and a growing economy. Our mission is to recruit, train, and empower a highly skilled workforce driven by business and industry needs and to be the competitive advantage for Alabama’s economic growth. Whether you are an employer, a job seeker or a student, Alabama Works is the springboard for your success and promises to provide profitability and economic growth by creating opportunities for success and an improved quality of life for Alabamians.

Career One Stop – Delivers integrated, easy-to-understand workforce information that helps job seekers, students, workers, workforce intermediaries, and employers develop their capacity and make sound economic decisions in the new economy.

Made in Alabama – the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship (AOA) is a new tool in the workforce development toolbox of our state. The mission of the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship (AOA) is to expand the use of registered apprenticeships (RAs) and Alabama industry recognized apprenticeship programs (AIRAPs) in order to provide high-quality career training which will enable workers and employers to prosper in pursuit of the continued economic development of our state. 

Go Build Alabama – AMERICA’S SKILLED WORKERS are a proud, elite group. As the future of our country’s construction industry, you’ll be tasked with helping to build a better tomorrow. Sign up today to become a part of this community. Master a trade, and discover there’s no limit to what you can accomplish.

Innovate Birmingham – Innovate Birmingham was created to be one solution to the tech talent gap that exists in our region. There are more tech jobs than individuals with the technology skills necessary to fulfill those jobs. We upskill young adults to meet technology market needs.

Personality Type
Knowing your personality type can help you discover your perfect career and much more. Find out how by taking this fast, accurate and FREE personality type assessment!

Jung Typology Test
This free personality test is based on Carl Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ typological approach to personality. Identify your personality type. Obtain your 4-letter type formula according to Carl Jungs and Isabel Briggs Myers typology, along with the strengths of preferences and the description of your personality type, communication and learning style. Discover careers and occupations most suitable for your personality type, along with examples of educational institutions where you can get a relevant degree or training. See which famous personalities share your type.

Holland Self Directed Search
www.self-directed-search.com/
The SDS can help you make the best career decisions wherever you are in your life. It has been used by more than 30 million people worldwide and has been translated into more than 25 different languages. SDS results have been supported by more than 500 research studies. The cost for the SDS is around $10.

Career Investigations Through ACT’s World of Work Map
Explore ACT’s free interactive World-of-Work Map to Investigate careers and see how occupations relate to each other based on work tasks. When you receive scores from EXPLORE, PLAN or the ACT you receive a personalized report. This report suggests map regions and career areas on the World-of-Work Map for you to explore. A career area’s location is based on the its primary work tasks–working with: Data: Facts, numbers, files, and business procedures; Ideas: Knowledge, insights, theories, and new ways of saying or doing something; People: Care, services, leadership, and sales; and Things: Machines, tools, living things, and materials such as food, wood, or metal. Visit the map http://www.act.org/world/world.html and click on each area to pull up examples of careers, and then click on individual careers to read details of the job, salary, size, growth, educational requirements, related fields and majors…AND it’s ALL FREE.

My College Options
My College Options is a FREE college planning service, offering assistance to students, parents, high schools, counselors, and teachers nationwide. It is designed to assist high school students in exploring a wide range of post-secondary opportunities, with special emphasis on the college search process. Students can create a profile to find a college by matching interests or can search for colleges by major at https://www.mycollegeoptions.org/college-search-by-major.aspx

Wet Feet
Learn about job requirements, career tracks, job outlook and compensation for your chosen career

Education Online Search
College and career education portal to help you learn about careers and the schools offering education and degrees for the fields you choose. There are career articles and education articles intended to guide yo through many aspects of your search, including career descriptions, financial aid tips, info on standardized college tests, and more. You’ll also find a directory of colleges.

U.S. News College and Career Center
College rankings, advice from high school counselors and financial aid experts, a comprehensive college search engine and links to colleges

College Majors 101
Resource for college majors information available to students, parents, and guidance counselors. Discover the right major and school for you.

College Results Online
College Results Online (CRO) is an interactive, user-friendly Web tool designed to provide you with information about college graduation rates for nearly any four-year college or university in the country. CRO allows users to: a) Examine colleges’ graduation rates, and see how those rates have changed over time; b) Compare graduation rates of similar colleges serving similar students; c) Learn about colleges’ track records in graduating diverse groups of students.

Preventing Drug Abuse Among Children and Adolescents
What are risk factors and protective factors?
Research over the past two decades has tried to determine how drug abuse begins and how it progresses. Many factors can add to a person’s risk for drug abuse. Risk factors can increase a person’s chances for drug abuse, while protective factors can reduce the risk. Please note, however, that most individuals at risk for drug abuse do not start using drugs or become addicted. Also, a risk factor for one person may not be for another. Risk and protective factors can affect children at different stages of their lives. At each stage risks occur that can be changed thorugh prevention intervention. Early childhood risks, such as aggressive behavior, can be changed or prevented with family, school, and community interventions that focus on helping children develop appropriate, positive behaviors. If not addressed, negative behaviors can lead to more risks, such as academic failure and social difficulties, which put children at further risk for later drug abuse.

Risk factors can influence drug abuse in several ways. The more risks a child is exposed to, the more likely the child will abuse drugs. Some risk factors may be more powerful than others at certain stages in development, such as peer pressure during the teenage years; just as some protective factors, such as a strong parent-child bond, can have greater impact on reducing risks during the early years. An important goal of prevention is to change the balance between risk and protective factors so that protective factors outweigh risk factors.

What are the highest risk periods for drug abuse among youth?
Research has shown that the key risk periods for drug abuse are during major transitions in children’s lives. The first big transition for children is when they leave the security of the family and enter school. Later, when they advance from elementary school to middle school, they often experience new academic and social situations, such as learning to get along with a wider group of peers. It is at this stage–early adolescence–that children are likely to encounter drugs for the first time. When they enter high school, adolescents face additional social, emotional, and educational challenges. At the same time, they may be exposed to greater availability of drugs, drug abusers, and social activities involving drugs. These challenges can increase the risk that they will abuse alcohol, tobacco, and other substances.

For more information on prevention programs visit www.nida.nih.gov/prevention/index.html
Cindy Wiley, Shelby County Schools, Guidance & Testing Supervisor

TEEN LINK/CRISIS CENTER
Teen Link/Crisis Center provides a safe, non-threatening avenue for teens to address personal problem. They outreach to high school aged youths in our community and educate them about the various aspects of teen living. They are available everyday; during the school year they are available from 3 pm – 10 pm. To reach Teen Link counselors call (205) 328-5465 or visit the website.

The United States of Numb – Current US Drug Trends Presentation
us-of-numb-current-us-drug-trends
Angela Camp, MA
National Coordinator of Adolescent Marketing
Bradford Health Services

Objectives:
1. Understanding current adolescent drug trends
2. Understanding signs and symptoms of adolescent drug use and ways adolescents hide their drugs
and paraphernalia in plain sight
3. Understanding adolescent substance abuse treatment and the importance of family engagement

Bullying and Substance Abuse: Who It Affects and Why?
www.drugrehab.com/guides/bullying/

Guide for Parents of Addicted Teens
www.advancedrecoverysystems.com/parents-guide/