Mish Guker - Guidance CounselorMish Guker graduated with a degree in Physics from San Francisco State University. While teaching at Galileo HS in San Francisco, Ms. Guker worked closely with the Exploratorium Science Museum to develop hands-on science curriculum and build classroom versions of museum exhibits. During that time she also developed an award winning website on auroras through a project with UC Berkeley’s Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics and NASA (http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/). After teaching high school Physics and Astronomy for thirteen years, she transitioned into school counseling.
Ms. Guker began her counseling career in the Oakland Unified School District as the counselor at Far West Middle/High School - an alternative arts-integrated school of 150 students, serving grades 6-12. She created a college-going culture through an advisory program curriculum, student workshops, guest speakers, and evening parent education events. Being a small school, Ms. Guker also worked closely with the principal to develop a comprehensive vision and site plan as well as operating procedures. In 2008, Ms. Guker accepted a counseling position at Christensen Middle School in Livermore. In addition to designing and implementing a comprehensive counseling program for CMS, Ms. Guker drafted the district’s middle school counseling program in alignment with the American School Counseling Association’s national school counseling model. As a leader and mentor, Ms. Guker has supervised graduate level school counseling interns, marriage and family therapist interns, and college counselors. She has also advised high school leadership and service organizations, and was a teacher-leader for MECCA - a program to support young women interested in careers in science. In 2010, the Tri-Valley YMCA awarded Ms. Guker the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for her work with community outreach programs. From 2012-2016, Ms. Guker had the incredible opportunity to work at a charter school high school during its early development. This was an all-digital, project-based learning environment, with a focus on college preparation. As a college prep school, she worked to educate students and parents about post-secondary options by offering parent education nights, making classroom guidance presentations, and writing advisory curriculum for all grade levels. The first graduating class had a 98.7% graduation rate, with 94% of these seniors eligible to attend a four-year university. After moving to this area, Ms. Guker joined Antioch Unified School District as a support counselor to run a “Wellness Room” at Park Middle School. The Wellness Room was part of a school-wide initiative to help students regulate their emotions and re-integrate into the classroom. Park MS saw a tremendous shift in school climate with school-wide training in trauma informed communication and mindfulness. As a result, suspensions dropped 69% in one year. When the grant funding for the Wellness Room Counselor ended, Ms. Guker was fortunate to be offered a position at Orchard Park School. Ms. Guker holds a dual Master’s Degree in School Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy from Saint Mary’s College. In addition to being a credentialed teacher and school counselor, she is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. When she is not counseling, she spends her winters snowboarding and her summers traveling. |