St. Agnes Academy

The Wellness Center

Our mission is to create a safe, nonjudgmental, and confidential environment for our students as they manage their academic and personal lives at St. Agnes Academy. Through preventative programming, small group meetings, and individual sessions, we promote the importance of self-care and balance. The desire for our students and their parents to feel supported, informed, and empowered to seek growth in wellness of mind, body, and spirit guides us.

List of 5 items.

Freshman Seminar
Freshman Seminar is a one-semester, stand-alone course designed to support our entering Freshman students in their transition from a middle school environment to the high school setting. The course aims to help students develop the necessary skills and mindset to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally during their high school years. By providing students with targeted support and guidance, Freshman Seminar aims to create a cohesive, prepared, and academically motivated freshman class. Freshman are assigned to a counselor based on their Freshman Seminar course and remain with that counselor until they are sophomores.

Objectives in Freshman Seminar may include:
- Academic Readiness: Equip students with essential academic skills and strategies to excel in high school. This includes effective study habits, time management, goal setting, organizational skills, and utilizing available academic resources.
- Social and Emotional Well-being: Support students in understanding and managing the social and emotional challenges they may encounter during high school. Topics covered may include building positive relationships, conflict resolution, stress management, resilience, self-advocacy, and maintaining a healthy school-life balance.
- High School Orientation: Familiarize students with the structure, culture, and expectations of the St Agnes school environment.
- Personal Development: Foster self-awareness, personal growth, and character development in students through self-reflective practices.
Our Role
- To deliver a wide variety of workshops, events, and preventative programming to students based on a range of topics that support a student's personal growth
- To collaborate with teachers, administrators, and parents on how to best support students throughout their high school journey
- To assist in registering freshman students for their sophomore year courses and to answer questions regarding their course requirements
- To offer students the option to meet one-on-one with their counselor as needed
- To provide a quiet and calming space in the wellness center that is open to students throughout the day
Wellness Programming
- Wellness Parent Lunch and Learns: The wellness department will host a selection of speakers to present to parents on important topics surrounding mental health and adolescent development in an informal convenient zoom platform.
- Grade Level Programming: The Wellness Department collaborates with faculty and administration to offer grade level programming dependent upon the needs of the students during that academic year. Some examples of grade level programming include study skills, healthy relationships and boundaries, and helpful tips for course registration.
- Care Dogs: In collaboration with the organization Faithful Paws, the Wellness Department will host care dogs periodically throughout the school year to offer stress-relief and relaxation to students, especially before final exams.
- Wellness Workshops: Based on common or relevant themes, the Wellness Department will provide small group workshops for students to dive deeper into a topic and learn helpful skills. Some past workshop topics have included friendship, anxiety coping skills, and practicing body acceptance.
- Self-Care Fair: Held in the spring semester, students will be invited to visit the self-care fair where they can visit various booths containing self-care activities, mindfulness techniques, and calming strategies. Examples include art activities, breathing exercises, and the chance to win prizes along the way!
What does "school counseling work" look like with students?
When school counseling work is approached from a solution-focused perspective, the focus is on identifying and building upon students' strengths, resources, and potential solutions to their challenges. St Agnes Wellness Department uses a solution-focused approach to counseling that focuses on resiliency building allowing students to return to class to ensure academic success. Here's what our approach with students focuses on:
1. Identifying Goals: The counselor works with students to identify their desired outcomes or goals. This could be related to academic achievement, social relationships, emotional well-being, or personal growth.
2. Assessing Strengths and Resources: The counselor helps students recognize and explore their existing strengths, skills, and resources that can contribute to their desired success. This could involve discussing their past successes, positive attributes, supportive relationships, or coping strategies.
3. Collaborative Problem-Solving: The counselor and student work together to identify and define the challenges or obstacles the student is facing. They engage in a collaborative process to generate potential solutions or strategies to address these challenges.
4. Building Skills and Strategies: The counselor helps the student develop and strengthen the skills, knowledge, and strategies necessary to achieve their goals. This could involve teaching problem-solving techniques, stress management strategies, communication skills, or study skills, among others.
5. Celebrating Successes: Together the student and counselor celebrate the steps in their progress and aimed for successes. This helps boost their self-confidence and reinforces their belief in their ability to overcome challenges.
Throughout the solution-focused approach, the school counselor maintains a positive and strengths-based perspective, emphasizing the student's abilities and potential to create positive change. They facilitate a collaborative and empowering environment that encourages students to take an active role in their own growth and development.
Wellness Advising

Freshman and sophomores primarily receive academic advising from the Wellness Counselors. Juniors and seniors are primarily advised by the College Counselors. This division allows students to select an appropriately rigorous curriculum which builds on their individual strengths.

Advising for the next school year begins in second semester with classroom guidance which is followed by student generated counseling appointments. For more information on the process to move from the College Preparatory Program into the Honors Program please see our Contingencies page.

Student Success Center

The Student Success Center provides a place for students with various learning differences to attain skills in study techniques, time management, organizational strategies, and goal planning, as well as providing reasonable accommodations for students to ensure their full participation in the academic programs. The Center is also a source for all students to develop effective learning and academic strategies to help meet the curriculum demands of St. Agnes Academy.

The highly trained specialists in the Student Success Center collaborate with teachers and counselors to ensure academic support for students is aligned and applicable to coursework and student goals.

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Our Role

Through one-on-one consultations with students, the specialists provide support in the following areas: organization, time management, study skills, test taking strategies, self-advocacy, and executive functioning skills. The specialists also help to facilitate implementation of accommodations in the classroom, as well as limited interventions outside of the classroom. 

The Director of Student Support works with the school administration to share best instructional practices to differentiate instruction that supports the diverse learners in the classroom. 
Services for Students with Disabilities

We understand that there may be circumstances when a parent may request that the School provide an accommodation for a student’s medical needs or physical, mental, or learning disability. As the range of requests has grown over the years, the School believes that it is appropriate at this time to outline the School’s policy and general guidelines for addressing such requests. 
General Accommodation Policy

In general, it is our school’s policy to provide accommodations for a student’s minor needs in circumstances in which the administration determines, in its sole discretion, that doing so is within the reasonable ability of the School and/or its staff and will not result in a significant disruption to the teacher’s ability to instruct other students, to classroom or school order and discipline, will not require a threat of harm to the safety of other students or employees, will not require a fundamental change to our educational environment or mission, and will not impose responsibilities on school employees for which they are not trained. We also ask parents to realize that, given the size of our school and our available resources, we may not be able to provide all requested accommodations. To the extent we agree to provide accommodations, we may require a sharing of responsibility for the accommodation.
Available Accommodations
St. Agnes provides students with documented learning differences (5) accommodations:
- Extended time on assessments
- Testing in the testing center (smaller and quieter environment free from classroom distractions)
- Preferential Seating
- Note Taking Assistance
- Mark answers on assesments/No Scantrons for exams and tests
Assessment Documentation of Need

Once the educational evaluation or medical documentation has been received by the School, the Director of Student Support will meet with the parents to clarify information and to discuss how the five accommodations will be implemented to support their child. In some cases, the parent may be asked to provide (at the parent’s cost) any special equipment suggested, training for the School’s staff, or other associated matters. In addition, the School may advise the parent that the School will allow a particular accommodation, but the full responsibility for doing so will rest with the parent. For example, if the student needs to be tested or have certain types of medicines administered during the day that the School or nurse believe are beyond the scope of the School’s responsibility, the School may allow the parent to make arrangements to visit the campus for the purpose of testing and administering.
ACT and College Board Accomodations

Students who are receiving classroom accommodations at St. Agnes based on a current diagnosis, may be eligible to receive accommodations for ACT or College Board (PSAT/SAT/AP) tests. College Board requires an educational evaluation conducted within the past 5 years and ACT requires an educational evaluation conducted within the past 3 years. They both require the implementation and use of accommodations in the School setting for at least one semester. It is important to remember that even if a student receives accommodations at school, it does not necessarily mean that the student will be granted extended time on standardized tests. The governing board of each institution makes the decision independent of the School, based on their interpretation of the documentation presented. More information can be found at (ACT website: www.act.org) and (College Board website: www.collegeboard.org).
School Code

443-420 is the number assigned to St. Agnes Academy for use on college entrance test registration forms for SAT and ACT, financial aid applications, and some college applications. Use it any time "School Code", "CEEB Code", or "ETS Number" is requested.

Wellness Counselors

List of 4 members.

Kallie Allen

Director of Student Support

713.219.5500

Bio
Kallie Allen has been with St. Agnes since the 2017 school year. Before her work as a wellness counselor, Kallie worked in private practice as a child therapist and school counseling consultant. Her school counseling experience began at the Regis School of the Sacred Heart where she designed and implemented their very first school counseling program. Prior to becoming a school counselor, Kallie worked as a 3^rd grade teacher and reading/math interventionist. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a Minor in Fine Arts from University of Northern Colorado and her Master of Education in both School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of St. Thomas. Kallie is trained as a Licensed Professional Counselor- Supervisor in the state of Texas. She is a Certified Daring Way Facilitator and utilizes this in her St Agnes course, Understanding of Self, as well as in her work with preventative programming and individual student work. Finally, Kallie is a certified school counselor in the state of Texas. She enjoys teaching the importance of building empathy skills, healthy relationship boundaries, and building larger scale human perspective.

As a Colorado native, Kallie naturally enjoys outdoor activities, including running, skiing, and hiking with her husband and son. Kallie is a creative at heart and loves spending time listening to live music, dancing, and traveling. She will never shy away from an opportunity that allows her to fail, learn, and try again.
Joy Liao

Wellness Counselor

(713) 219-5465

Bio
Joy Chen Liao has been with St. Agnes since the 2022 school year. She previously worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor in community mental health group practices serving adolescents and adults. Prior to her work as a counselor, Joy taught for 7 years as a secondary English Language Arts teacher in Fort Bend ISD. Joy received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Education from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Science in Marital and Family Therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Psychology. Joy remains a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. She values building student agency and voice, providing social emotional learning education, and creating safe spaces for young people to be seen and heard so that they can live into their true authentic selves.

When she is not counseling, Joy is building a life with her husband Caleb and their community of friends and family in her native city of Houston. She enjoys taking long neighborhood walks, playing pickleball, developing her green thumb, and baking sweet treats.
Asmait Gebrekristos

Wellness Counselor
Sabrina Rodriguez

Wellness Counselor

Bio
Sabrina Rodriguez joined St. Agnes in the 2024 school year. Before her role at St. Agnes, she served as a high school counselor at both Bellaire High School and Eisenhower High School. In addition, she worked in a private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor, focusing on adolescents and children.

Prior to becoming a school counselor, Sabrina worked as an elementary school teacher. Sabrina received her Bachelor of Science in human development and family sciences from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Education in school counseling from the University of St. Thomas. She also received her Clinical Mental Counseling certification from the University of Houston Clear Lake. Sabrina remains a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. She is passionate about empowering students to reach their full potential and offering compassionate support through their educational journey.

When she is not counseling, Sabrina loves to spend time with her family and friends in her native city of Houston. She spends her weekends in the fall visiting Austin for Longhorn Football, Sundays at the Houston Texans games, and the spring season cheering on her son at a baseball game. Sabrina also enjoys reading, live music, and travel.

Student Success Center Team

List of 5 members.

Kallie Allen

Director of Student Support

713.219.5500

Bio
Kallie Allen has been with St. Agnes since the 2017 school year. Before her work as a wellness counselor, Kallie worked in private practice as a child therapist and school counseling consultant. Her school counseling experience began at the Regis School of the Sacred Heart where she designed and implemented their very first school counseling program. Prior to becoming a school counselor, Kallie worked as a 3^rd grade teacher and reading/math interventionist. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a Minor in Fine Arts from University of Northern Colorado and her Master of Education in both School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of St. Thomas. Kallie is trained as a Licensed Professional Counselor- Supervisor in the state of Texas. She is a Certified Daring Way Facilitator and utilizes this in her St Agnes course, Understanding of Self, as well as in her work with preventative programming and individual student work. Finally, Kallie is a certified school counselor in the state of Texas. She enjoys teaching the importance of building empathy skills, healthy relationship boundaries, and building larger scale human perspective.

As a Colorado native, Kallie naturally enjoys outdoor activities, including running, skiing, and hiking with her husband and son. Kallie is a creative at heart and loves spending time listening to live music, dancing, and traveling. She will never shy away from an opportunity that allows her to fail, learn, and try again.
Ariann Pradia

Academic Support Coordinator

(713) 219-5469
Josephine DeForke 83

Associate Learning Support Specialist, Academic Data Analyst, Science Teacher

(713) 219-5519

Bio
Josephine DeForke has been with St. Agnes since the 1998 school year. She has worked for more than thirty years as a classroom instructor at the college and high school levels. She served as St. Agnes’s Science department chair for nineteen years. She has won numerous teaching and academic awards and wrote or cowrote many articles published in multiple academic journals. Along with her current role as Associate Learning Support Specialist, Josephine serves as the school's Academic Data Analyst.

A graduate of St. Agnes Academy, Josephine received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University of St. Thomas and her Doctor of Philosophy in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Houston. She has extensive personal and professional experience working with students who have various learning differences and styles. Josephine has also completed an Executive Function Certificate Training program, an assessment-based accreditation, as well as Advanced Motivational Interviewing Training.
Josephine has always been an advocate for students, which fuels her passion for teaching and student success. She strives for excellence in the classroom by encouraging students to ask questions, seek answers to their questions, and think critically. She empowers her students to take ownership of their learning and supports them on their journey to becoming who God meant them to be.

When she is not working with students or working with data, Josephine enjoys spending time with her husband, Michael, their four children, Samuel, Anna, Elizabeth, and Sarah, and their three cats, Penny, Ginger, and Gracie.
Karen Lopez

Lead Learning Support Specialist

Bio
Karen Lopez joined St. Agnes at the beginning of the 2023 school year. Previously, she owned a private academic coaching business and taught high school English at The Tenney School. She also has experience as a Title 1 math and reading interventionist and was employed for 9 years in Alief ISD as a middle school social studies teacher and specialist. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from The University of St. Thomas and her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with a Developmental Reading Certificate from Sam Houston State University. Along with teaching certifications in History and English, Karen is also certified in Special Education and English as a Second Language. Karen has further enhanced her expertise by completing an Executive Function Certificate Training program, an assessment-based certification accreditation. Through her experiences as an educator and parent of children with learning differences, Karen has a passion for helping students develop strong executive function skills. She is committed to staying current on research-based strategies in learning and executive functioning.

When she is not helping students, Karen enjoys being with her husband, Nick, and their four sons. She travels as often as possible to Austin to visit her new granddaughter. For over 20 years, Karen has co-presented with Nick at local parishes on marital communication to engaged couples. She enjoys reading, walking, watching old movies, working jigsaw puzzles, and traveling around Texas.
Joseph Mellor

Math Specialist

Bio
Joseph Mellor joined St. Agnes at the beginning of the 2024 school year. Previously he taught various math courses at Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, NH), Culver Academies (Culver, IN), and Houston Christian High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan and his Masters of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Houston. Joseph's chief passion in education has evolved into creating challenging, yet accessible, inquiry-based activities for students to explore mathematical concepts. As a veteran high school football coach of over 19 years, Joseph also contributes to data collection and analysis efforts of Pro Football Focus.

When he is not helping students, Joseph and his wife Amanda of 13 years are busy sharing in the lives of their 3 children, Annaleigh (11), Kayleigh (8), and Winston (6).