The mission of the Roselle Schools Counseling Department is to provide for the educational, career, and social/emotional needs of our students.  Our counselors work in collaboration with staff, parents, and our community, in order to strengthen the whole student.  We strive to develop their decision-making; to encourage students’ exploration of their interests; to broaden their awareness of themselves and the community/world around them; and to realize their potential in creating and achieving goals and opportunities in the future.  The counselors strive to enable students to acquire the educational and social competencies needed for their growth toward lifelong success and effective, responsible citizenship in a diverse and changing world.

Why we exist
The school counselor's role is to foster personal responsibility in students as they work toward becoming successful 21st-century citizens. The mission of our school counseling program is to support all students through a comprehensive and developmental approach by addressing academic, career, personal/social skills necessary to achieve quality learning and lifelong success as directed by the Roselle School District and the New Jersey Department of Education.

Our plans for the future
The Roselle Schools Counseling department strives to continuously improve its role in the school and community as facilitators of change; leaders of school improvement; partners in educational excellence; coordinators of collaborative community efforts and managers of student competency attainment.

About Us
Our School Counselors are all members of the American School Counselors Association, New Jersey School Counselors Association, and the Union County School Counselors Association, as well as, the National Association for College Admissions Counselors, National Association of Social Work and New Jersey Association of College Admissions Counselors. All counselors enjoy working with a wonderful team of caring professionals whose mission is to deliver a comprehensive counseling program that helps all students understand themselves better and strive towards their potential.

• Program of Studies

College Partnerships and Affiliations with Abraham Clark High School

Abraham Clark High School is pleased to have affiliations with four colleges and universities to help students prepare for college and careers post -graduation from high school. The following is a listing of college affiliations with a description of each affiliation:

Middle College Program with Fairleigh Dickinson University- this unique program allows ACHS students to take college level courses during their school day and receive dual college credits. The school district finances this program that allows the students to take the courses tuition free. The college credits can be transferred to any college or university of their choice upon graduation if they are successful on their course work taken at ACHS and make the academic criteria of the attending college post -graduation. The program also allows the students to use any of Fairleigh Dickinson’s facilities, libraries and attend extracurricular activities held on the college campus. Students are often taken to the university on field trips and have guest lectures from university professors. If the student chooses to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University upon graduation from high school they can receive a partial scholarship to be applied to their tuition for being a participant in this program. Each of the courses offered are three college credits. The following courses are offered in conjunction with Fairleigh Dickinson University:

AP History
AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Literature
AP Spanish

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Health Sciences Careers Program- This is a joint program between UMDNJ and Abraham Clark High School to allow students to gain valuable college credits and clinical experience to prepare them for a career in the health field. Students take four courses in a sequence as part of the Health Occupations Program at Abraham Clark High School and receive clinical experience in health care settings and also obtain tuition free college credits with UMDNJ. These credits can be applied to any college or university of their choice post- graduation from high school if the students are successful in their academic grades and fulfills the requirements of the university and school district. The following courses are offered in conjunction with UMDNJ:

Dynamics of Health Care in Society/Health Occupations- 3 college credits
This course allows students the unique opportunity to gain over 180 hours of clinical experience in three different health care settings during the school year and gain college credits with UMDNJ.

Emergency & Clinical Care 2 College credits
Students also gain CPR and AED certification as part of this course.

Anatomy & Physiology I - 4 College credits
Medical Math- 3 College credits Dynamics of Nutrition- 3 College credits

Union County College - Through a partnership with Union County College and Abraham Clark High School students are able to take college courses during the extended school day after school. The high school has become an extension site for the local community college allowing students take courses in their own school without the worry of transportation. All of the courses are three college credits and the students can transfer these college credits to any college or university of their choice post- graduation from high school. The following courses will be financed through SIG grant funding to allow the students to take the courses tuition free:

General Psychology 3
College credits Computer Systems 3
College credits General Sociology 3 College credits

Pharmacy Technician (This is a course that prepares students for certification and no college credits are offered through this program. Taking the course allows students the opportunity to be prepared to take state and national examinations to become nationally certified in the field.)

Kean University- This is a joint program with Kean University and Abraham Clark High School that helps prepare students for a career in the field of Teaching. Students attend workshops at Kean University along with taking courses at Abraham Clark High School to prepare them to become teachers. No college credit is offered through this program.

High School

Ms. Sisly Cooper

Ms. Cooper has been working at ACHS since 2017, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Kean University and a Master’s in School Counseling from Montclair State University. Prior to joining the ACHS team, Ms. Cooper completed her School Counseling internship with the Montclair School District. She had been working with students with disabilities for approximately six years prior to the completion of her Master’s degree.  Although she calls East Orange home, Ms. Cooper is a proud Trinidadian. She enjoys listening to Soca music, watching documentaries, and reading romance novels. Nothing fulfills Ms. Cooper more than helping her students plan their life after high school.

Mr. Donald Walker

Mr. Donald Walker is one of the newest Abraham Clark High School Professional School Counselors. Mr. Walker began his career in Roselle as an intern in the Guidance department. He graduated from Rutgers University Graduate School of Education with a Masters in School Counseling. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Eastern Connecticut State University. When not working with students, Mr. Walker enjoys spending time with his dog and finding new places to hike around the East Coast.  

Mr. Jordan T. Siegel

Mr. Siegel has been part of the Roselle community his entire life.  He is an alumnus of the Roselle school district and graduated from Abraham Clark in 1983.  Mr. Siegel has been a member of the Roselle School Counseling Department since 2007. He is looking forward to the start of his 12th year as a counselor-educator, eager to meet his new students, along with continuing to develop a rapport with his existing students.   His B.A. in Labor Studies and Ed.M. in Educational Psychology has prepared him to assist students and their families with scholastic, social, and career issues/concerns that may arise.  Mr. Siegel was awarded the Union County Unity Award for Education by the Union County Freeholders and was a nominee for Life Changer of the Year in 2016-2017.  The development of a student’s social/emotional skills and leadership skills has been a cornerstone of Mr. Siegel’s counseling, he has developed groups such as the Nike Career Group, Validating Mentors Group, and the ACHS Dungeons & Dragons Group. He is also a member of the NJ School Counselors Association, The Union County School Counselors Association, and the American School Counselors Association.

Ms. Lola Williams

Ms. Williams is a School Counselor at the Abraham Clark High School (ACHS).  Before coming to ACHS, she served as a School Counselor with the Newark Public Schools and as a Counselor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology Center for Pre-College Programs.  In all, Ms. Williams has over fifteen years of experience in counseling middle school and high school-aged students.  She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Bloomfield College and a Master’s in School Counseling from Seton Hall University.

Her career as a school counselor has truly been rewarding. Ms. Williams enjoys working with students, teachers, the administrative team and parents who each play a critical role in the student’s academic success.  She is a strong believer in expecting and encouraging each student to have a growth mindset; anything is possible with effort and determination.  In her free time, Ms. Williams enjoys spending time with family and friends, participating in community service events, singing, and writing.   She is a published author of children’s book entitled, her first one was: Crabbella, the Rescue.  Ms. Williams office door remains open for counseling  and all are welcome.

Student Assistance Counselor

Mrs. Kristen Soos

Mrs. Soos is the new Student Assistance Counselor (SAC) at ACHS.  She earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Scranton and then went on to complete her Master's Degree in Education specializing in secondary school counseling at Bucknell University.  While working on her graduate studies, Mrs. Soos developed an interest in substance prevention and program development and obtained her NJ SAC certification from Kean University.  Mrs. Soos began working as a Student Assistance Counselor in 1997 and quickly developed a passion for teaching students how to make positive life choices and develop healthy coping skills.  She now has almost 20 years experience in the SAC role working with students from grades K-12 and truly enjoys engaging with students both in the classroom and individually for personal counseling.  Mrs. Soos' mission is to promote social-emotional wellness so that students can successfully work through any issues that may negatively impact them. Her goal is to be a support and a resource to the students and families of ACHS so that they have all the tools they need to achieve their academic and personal goals.  

In her free time, Mrs. Soos loves spending time with her family, friends, and Golden Retriever.  She also enjoys listening to all kinds of music, going to the beach, and stand up comedy.

Crisis Counselor

Mr. Antoine Patterson

Mr. Patterson is the Crisis Counselor at ACHS.  He attended St. Francis University, Pa where he earned his Bachelor’s Criminal Justice.  Over the years, Mr Patterson had the opportunity to work in a variety of different settings dealing with youth, and gained valuable experiences from all of them.  While working with the adolescent population in a youth shelter in New York as well as in group homes in New Jersey, he gained a passion for working with children and families.

These experiences, lead Mr Patterson to a career working in the schools, where he could be an effective role model for students.  At that time he started to pursue the  State of New Jersey Social Worker Certification at Montclair State University. Mr. Patterson was hired in 1999, at Abraham Clark High School as a Crisis Intervention Counselor.  In his 19 years of experience at Abraham Clark, he has served in many different capacities outside of the counseling role, such as: Freshman Class Advisor, Peer Group Advisor, Freshman & Varsity Assistant Basketball Coach, Freshman Football Coach, Track & Field Coach.  As a coach, Mr. Patterson has had the opportunity to shape and mold many of my young athletes into positive productive individuals. As an educator, there are many challenges, as well as rewards on a daily basis. Mr. Patterson continues to enjoy working with students, families and the Roselle Community as a whole, while also assisting in helping students in making relationships that will allow them to grow into respective young adults.

• New Jersey High School Graduation Assessment Requirements
• New Jersey State Minimum Graduation Requirements by Content Area 

• 2019 Oct 3 HS 101 Parent Presentation
• 2019 Sept ACHS Senior Parent Night
• 20-21 Financial Aid PPT

• SAT Test Prep
• SAT Practice Test

• Abraham Clark HS College Application Process
• Senior Document Request Form 2020
• 19-20 Guidance Calendar
• Teacher Recommendation Request
• Senior Exit Survey