CASC honors certain individuals who have been instrumental in the field of school counseling during the previous year(s). These individuals are nominated by their peers and chosen by an independent panel that follows various criteria for each category.
During the recent years as schools have faced extreme budget reductions, many school counseling programs have been facing drastic cuts and in some cases elimination. When Notre Dame was facing a drop in enrollment, Luttringer looked to hire school counselors to help the school move forward. Luttringer truly believes that a strong counseling program is the foundation to any great school. He often refers to the Counseling Office as the “heart of the school.”
Luttringer, himself, graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1993. Even then, he already knew his passion was education. Having attended Notre Dame, Mr. Luttringer understands and values the culture and direction needed in order to best serve students through a Catholic Education. He began his teaching career at Notre Dame in in 1998. He soon was promoted to Activities Director, Campus Minister, Dean of Students, and Assistant Principal before being appointed Principal of Notre Dame High School in 2010. Service is a major component of Catholic Education, and Luttringer felt the need to institute a student centered environment, starting with the Counseling Office.
Taking a risk, the investment in Student Support has been well worth the returns Notre Dame is now receiving. With a solid enrollment Notre Dame has a fully working comprehensive counseling program. Under his support two new Counselors took the lead that has resulted in positive changes, including the revision of the school’s four-year plan and course offerings, a School Wide Mentor Program, a National Honor Society Chapter, a California Scholarship Federation Chapter, school wide mandated reporter training, school wide confidentiality guidelines, a counseling website, classroom guidance lessons, and many university and community partnerships.
Furthermore, in addition to the many programs offered, counseling services include academic, career, social, emotional, behavioral, and crisis counseling. This was proven to be the case for the past three years as data demonstrates improvement with each graduating senior class. Last year’s graduating class was offered $5.5 million dollars in scholarship money, there was a 100% graduation rate, and a 99% college acceptance rate (1% Military, 95% Four Year College, and 4% Community College). These high percentages have been consistent since the two Counselors were hired.
There is a saying in the Counseling field that “School Counselors Change and Save Lives.” At Notre Dame, both school counselors make a difference every day and they couldn’t do it without the support of their Principal, Mr. Luttringer!