Student Services

Administrative Team

• Mrs. McMahen, Principal 
• Mrs. Ferguson, Assistant Principal
• Mr. Holder, Assistant Principal 
• Mrs. Perkins, Assistant Principal 
• Mr. Short,  Assistant Principal 
• Mrs. Burkhart, Dean of Students
• Mrs. Owen, Dean of Students 

Counseling Staff

• Mrs. Fritz, Director of Guidance, A/EC 9th 
• Mrs. Gattuso, B-Cr
• Mrs. Oliver, Cs-Hard
• Mrs. Paul, Harm-Li
• Mr. Stonick, Lia-Par
• Mr. Dobbins, Pas-So
• Mr. Kinnaird, Sp-Z
• Mrs. Chaplin, EC 10-12
• Mrs. Jones, School Social Work
• Mrs. Wischmeier,  School Social Work

• What’s My E (Enrollment, Employment, and Enlistment)? 
• Diploma Requirements   
• Indiana College Core
• How do I select a 9th-grade schedule?
• Breakout sessions
  • Early College 
  • Advanced Placement/Honors
  • Career Pathways /JROTC
• Hall of Excellence 

• There is more than one right answer/path for a successful experience.  
• WE are here to help and have been where you are!

• Get INVOLVED
• High School is about more than academics!
• Make memories
• More than 40 Clubs and every sport you can imagine.
• Fine arts - Music - Theatre - Art
• There is a club fair the second week of school where students can meet members of the different clubs and get information on meeting times.

• Enrollment- more schooling after high school 
• Employment- learn a skill in high school to be directly employed 
• Enlistment and Public Service - enlist in the military or pursue careers in law enforcement, public safety

• Base Diploma + Employability Skills and Postsecondary Competency 
  OR
• Base Diploma + Readiness Seal

• Base Diploma
• Readiness Seals
  • Enrollment Honors/ Honors Plus Seal
    • 4 credits in the same world language
    • Extra requirements in math, science, and social studies
    • Grade and GPA requirement
    • 3 AP or Dual Credit Classes
  • Employment Honors/ Honors Plus Seal
    • CTE pathway: 3 year-long courses in the same career area
    • Attendance Goal: One school year with no more than 3 unexcused absences
  • Enlistment Honors/ Honors Plus Seal
    • JROTC
    • Attendance Goal:  One school year with no more than 3 unexcused absences

Earning this seal guarantees admission to any state university.
Also guarantees admission to the campus to which a student applies.

• Indiana University
• Purdue University
• Indiana State University
• Ball State University
• University of Southern Indiana 
• Vincennes University
• Ivy Tech Community College

The Indiana College Core is a list of 30 college credits (about 10 high school classes) that transfer as one full year of general education credits at Indiana public schools

• Save money on a year of tuition 
• Start college as a sophomore
• ICC covers writing, speaking, math, science, social studies, and humanities
• Can create a high school schedule to meet diploma requirements AND ICC requirements
• Can meet the requirement with a mix of dual credit and AP courses 
   
• Dual Credit
  • Courses taught by high school staff approved as college professors; earn both high school and college credit at the same time
  • Dual credit courses usually begin in grades 10 and 11
  • CGHS has dual credit partnerships with Ivy Tech, IU and VU
  • May be a charge for some dual credit courses ($25 per credit hour)
• Advanced Placement
  • courses taught by high school staff that prepare students to score well on AP exams at the end of the school year.  Scores on AP exams can earn college credit. 
  • AP Course options greatly expand in grade 10
  • There may be a charge for AP exams 
     
• ICC is the minimum expectation of students within Early College 
• ICC can be earned by students outside of Early College
  • Will ask students to decide if pursuing ICC when scheduling for 10th grade 
• What can students do now to prepare for ICC?
  • Enroll in Spanish or French in grade 9 or 10
  • Take AP World History in grade 9 if recommended 

• Freshman Required Courses
  • English
  • Math
  • Science
  • Social Studies 
  • PCC/ Computer Science (sem 1) + PE (sem2)
  • Study Hall
  • Two electives 

CGHS is moving away from Class Rank towards the Latin Honors System.

• Students will receive a schedule worksheet on February 26-27  
• It will be partially completed with course recommendations (English, Math, Science, Social Studies)
• Families will complete the worksheet and return it by March 5th
• If your student is NOT recommended for an Honors Level course and you would like to appeal, please fill out the QR code appeal form on the worksheet by March 5  

• Summer School is through Global Campus (wifi needed). 
  • Students can access their courses through Canvas from the beginning of June to the end of July.
• Freshmen ONLY have these two options for Summer School: 
  • PCC + CS (non-EC students)
  • Personal Finance (EC students)
• Students will sign up with their counselor during the scheduling meeting.

• Students in marching band, show choirs (CG Sound System and Debtones), or varsity sports can earn PE credit through completion of a season
• Students in JROTC will automatically earn a PE credit by completing the yearlong course  
• Can sign up for PE waiver during grade 9 or 10
• Students will sign up with their counselor during the scheduling meeting

• Select electives based on the student’s E and personal interests
  • Enrollment:  Start or continue a world language
  • Employment:  Select a beginning career pathway class
  • Enlistment:  Select JROTC

• Business 
• Computer Science
• Engineering*
• Biomedical Sciences*
• Construction
• Manufacturing
  • Parent Night
    • Feb 26th at 6 pm
    • Franklin Ivy Tech
• Early Childhood Education
• Education 
• Fashion Design 
• Interior Design
• Visual Arts 
• Performing Arts 
• JROTC
• Culinary Arts

1. Will my student apply for Early College? 
2. What is my student’s E? 
3. How many elective spots? 
4. What Career Pathways fit best with my student’s career goal?

• Elective Courses Available for 9th Grade 
• Academic Guide
  • Describes the classes that we offer and what the requirements are for each.

1. Senior Year
   1. Quick review of graduation requirements
   2. Selecting senior schedule
   3. Graduation information
2. What’s My E? 
   1. Employment
   2. Enlistment
   3. Enrollment

Requirement 1
Students must complete the requirements of one of the following diplomas: 

• Core 40
• Academic Honors Diploma
• Technical Honors Diploma

Requirement 2

• Project-Based Learning
  • Coursework (Econ Stock Project)
• Service- Based Learning
  • Community Service, Sports, Clubs, Activities outside of school.
• Work-Based Learning 
  • Central Nine or Job

Requirement 3
*EC students meet this with DC

• AHD/THD
• SAT (480 ELA/530 MA)
• ASVAB (31 with intent to enlist)
• State/Industry Certification
• CTE Concentrator (Pathway courses at CGHS or Central Nine)
• AP/DC Courses
  • 3 classes total, 1 must be CORE
  • AP Exam required

1. Career Discovery Meetings
   1. Students must meet for 30 minutes with an outside provider regarding employment, enrollment, or enlistment opportunities 
   2. One meeting during junior year and one during senior year
2. Completion of FAFSA during Senior Year 
   1. Mandated by the state of Indiana that all seniors, no matter of future plans, complete the FAFSA
   2. Families may complete a waiver form to opt out.
3. One required school-based SAT test  
   1. Tuesday, March 3
   2. Only juniors will attend school that day 
   3. Students who are absent will make up the test at school within the following week
   4. Be watching for ParentSquare message where families can give permission for students to leave after testing

• FAFSA opening date- usually November or December
• Families will complete 27-28 FAFSA using 2025 tax information
• Deadline April 15th
• One application that is filtered through the federal government, state government, and colleges selected to check eligibility for financial aid
• CGHS will host a fall and spring help session 

Should my student take the SAT a second time?

• Depends on your student’s future plans
  • Employment- No
  • Enlistment- only if Service Academy 
  • Enrollment- Maybe 
• Know target scores for potential colleges or scholarship programs

Should my student take the ACT?

• Students applying to highly selective colleges or students who underperform on the SAT
  • SAT TEST PREP through Khan Academy, & We also will have ZAPS Test prep here in the Fall.
  • AIM sessions in spring for students to understand test scores and determine if they should take again or not

TEST OPTIONAL
Many schools no longer mandate the SAT or ACT for admission, but may use it for scholarship consideration, and do use it if provided for admissions. Please check and see if your post-secondary choice requires SAT/ACT! 

• CGHS transcripts do NOT include test scores. 
• Students may send scores through their College Board account.
  • Counselors do not have access to this information
• Students can choose up to 4 schools for free when registering for the SAT.

1. Counselors will meet with students by March 6th to review requirements
2. Most seniors will have a lot of open spots in their schedule
3. Athletes must be enrolled and pass five credits each semester to remain eligible
4. Senior year should be meaningful and based on goals after high school

Global Campus

• 3.0 or higher GPA requirement
• May select 1 or 2 courses per semester to complete independently through a CGHS-created Canvas course
• Qualifies students for a seat waiver, which may allow students to leave the building

Flex Scheduling with Global Campus

• 3.0 or higher GPA requirement
• May select more than 2 global campus courses each semester 
• Qualifies students for a seat waiver, which may allow students to only attend red or white days 

Cooperative Education

• Students are allowed a partial school day for a paid job
• Must work at least 75 hours for one credit (could earn up to 3 credits per semester)
• The student does not have to work during school hours, but has release time to do so if desired
• In-person class

Internship/Work-Based Learning 

• 3.0 or higher GPA requirement
• May have release time for an unpaid internship or volunteer opportunity.  May be related to career path, but not required 
• Minimum requirement of 3 hours per week 
• Global campus course

College Prep Schedule and Flex Scheduling 

• College-bound seniors are taking a very rigorous and difficult schedule of AP and dual credit courses
• May choose a minimum of four advanced courses from the approved list for a partial-day schedule
• Must be on track for an honors diploma/seal, have a 3.0 or higher GPA, and have at least 40 credits by the end of junior year

Early Graduation 

• Students can request to graduate by the end of the first semester. Cannot be a winter or spring athlete

• Students will order caps and gowns very early in the year- usually in October
• All outstanding fees must be paid by the last day of senior year
• Students must attend practice to be in the ceremony
• Students earning an honors diploma can exchange the standard tassel for a gold tassel.  Those exchanges happen at graduation practice
• Detailed newsletter sent in April to senior parents

• Employment
  • Consider classes that lead to a professional credential
  • Consider cooperative education 
  • Participate in CGHS’s Career JumpStart Fair on April 23rd
  • Endress+Hauser apprenticeship opportunities
    • E+H Open House and Parent Evening 2/19
  • Resume workshops during senior year
  • Free Resume builder as part of Xello
    • All Students have access to Xello
    • Students should login in through Clever
    • Resume builder is found under “About Me”
    • Resume Builder How To Video
       
• Enlistment
  • Consider the JROTC class
  • Academy workshops held by representatives, summer camps
  • AIM session with current students- date TBD but likely during AIM before spring break
  • ASVAB in April
  • Enlistment Fair 
  • Connect personally with recruiters
  • Service Academies: Army, Navy, Air Force, Merchant Marines, and Coast Guard

    • These schools provide a FREE world-class education in exchange for the student’s commitment to serve as an officer in that branch for 5 years post graduation. The application process takes a little longer, so if you are interested, you should start NOW on the pre-application.  The candidate questionnaire is open now, and you will want to start applying for congressional nominations NOW.

• Enrollment
  • College Fit and Creating a List of Potential Schools

    • Students should plan to have 3-6 Colleges on their lists of which to apply.

    • 2 Reach schools
      • Schools that I barely meet their range of acceptance (GPA, SAT scores)
    • 2 Ideal schools
      • Schools that I am within range of acceptance
    • 2 Back-Up schools
      • Schools that I exceed their range of acceptance
  • Researching College-Specific Requirements
    College Applications- parts, types, vocab
  • Scholarships and Financial Aid
  • Timeline

  • How to Decide What College to Attend 

    • Academics- available majors, faculty/ student ratio
    • Campus size, location, distance from home, atmosphere
    • Housing options
    • Extracurricular activities 
    • Affordability

    • Importance of College Visits

    • Visit Checklist 

    • *Each JR and SR gets 2 excused absences each year with a note from the college*

  • Review of College Admission Requirements (student)

    • Courses, GPA, Test Scores 
    • When researching, if you are missing a requirement for admission, contact counselor to make sure it is added to senior schedule

    • Strength of Senior schedule

    • Colleges look at rigor of course selection when they are admitting students. 

    • NCAA and NAIA Eligibility 

    • NCAA requires 16 core classes
    • NCAA night March 16, 6:30 pm in room 552

  • Parts of an Application

    • Student Section

    • High School Transcript and/or Secondary School Report completed by counselor

      • Some have…

      • Personal Statement/Essay

      • Letters of Recommendation

      • Application Fee

      • CSS Profile (additional financial information for non-federal sources)

        
         

High School Transcripts 

• Required to submit with the college application
• All the grades you have taken for HS Credit, grades, and GPA.  
• Colleges look at your 9th-11th grade years for college acceptance. 
• Some colleges may defer a decision and ask for a 7-semester transcript (January) 

Dual Credit Transcripts

• Separate from your HS transcript.
• YOU (the student) must request these from the colleges where the credit was earned *IU, UINDY, VU, IVY Tech 
• Not needed for admissions application
• Need to be sent Spring/Summer 2026 to the final college for transfer review

6 Semester Transcript

• Finish this year strong- college applications will include a 6-semester transcript and senior schedule

Keep track of your activities! 

Tips for writing your essay:

• Make sure you have several drafts. 
• Have a friend, parent, or teacher proofread for you, 
• Do NOT use AI to write your essay. Colleges WILL know.
• Admission committees are looking for genuine and honest essays that also incorporate your individuality/creativity. 
  • https://inlikeme.com/essay/
  • https://www.collegeessayguy.com/
  • Big Future Essay
  • https://www.nacacnet.org/top-ten-tips-for-writing-a-college-essay/

Common Application

• Only one application
• Two Main Parts:
  • Common Questions
  • College Specific Questions
• commonapp.org

Direct to Institution

• Apply through the application link on the school’s website

Early Decision (ED): Binding agreement and student must sign/verify they will enroll if they are accepted. 
Early Action (EA): Deadlines are earlier, and decisions are released earlier than regular decision. This is not binding.
Regular Decision: Application Deadlines occur anytime between November-March. Specific date set by college or university for release of decisions. 
Rolling Admissions- Colleges accept applications as you complete them and return decisions on a rolling basis until spots have been filled. 

Automatic Scholarships from colleges

• Most Public Colleges and Universities will have automatic scholarships based on academic criteria such as GPA and/or SAT/ACT scores.
• This is a dollar amount automatically given based on their criteria for test scores. 
• Most schools review applications for both admission and automatic scholarships
• Research parameters, and it may guide students to take the SAT again and apply not as test-optional 
• Priority deadline is important- usually Nov 1st 

Other Scholarships

• Scholarships are organized by month in CG’s Scholarship Database
• FYI:
  • Never pay to apply or to access a scholarship opportunity. 
  • Look Local first! 
  • Apply to several scholarships and increase your odds!

21st Century Scholars

• Students enrolled in 8th grade
• Must complete the following:
  • Core 40 diploma
  • 2.5 or higher GPA
  • All components of Scholar Success 

• Apply to several public and private schools and compare the cost of what the final bill would be.  
• Avoid disregarding a private school now based on “sticker price”
• Don’t focus on aid given, rather FINAL cost.
• Don’t be afraid to negotiate with private schools and show what other places are offering.

• Accelerated programs
  • 3-year bachelor's degrees 
    • Grace College 
  • 3+2 bachelor's and master's degrees
    • Valpo for Physician Assistant 
    • IU, Butler, UIndy for MBA
  • Ball State’s AMP program for about 19 different programs
  • 1-year associate degree
    • Ivy Tech ASAP
• Direct admission through partnerships with Vincennes University 
  • Purdue School of Engineering
  • U of Evansville School of Engineering
  • U of Indianapolis School of Social Work
• Direct admission through partnerships with Ivy Tech 
  • Green2Gold Engineering at Ivy Tech Columbus and Purdue University School of Engineering
• IUI Medical and Dental School
  • Bachelor to MD Pathway
  • Bachelor to DDS Pathway
•  

June/ July

• College Bootcamp (date TBD)
• Take college visits
• Retake SAT/ACT as needed

Aug/Sept/Oct 

• Apps open in August
• Lilly Scholarship due Aug
• College Preview Day
• Some out-of-state schools have a priority deadline in October

Nov/Dec  

• November priority deadline for admissions and college scholarships
• FAFSA opens*
• FAFSA help session
• Local scholarships

Jan/Feb

• Apply for local scholarships
• JCCF and CGEF applications open
• FAFSA help session

March/April

• FAFSA due in April
• Local Scholarships

May/June 

• National Candidate Reply Date in May
• Schedule Orientations
• Order dual credit transcripts
• Send AP scores

• Shannon Fritz (A & EC Freshman, Director)
• Jessica Gattuso (B-Cr)
• Karlee Oliver (Cs-Harl)
• Stephanie Paul (Harm-Li)
• Jacob Stonick  (Lia-Par)
• Nick Dobbins  (Pas-So)
• Brandon Kinnaird (Sp-Z)
• Angela Chaplin (Early College 10-12)