North Kingstown High School Guidance

North Kingstown High School Counselors

Assistant Principal

Director of Guidance and Counseling

Mr. Chace became Assistant Principal in July of 2005. A graduate of Pilgrim High School, he attended the Community College of Rhode Island and Northeastern University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and a Master of Science Degree in Educational Psychology. While attending Northeastern, Tim worked for seven years in the financial aid and admissions offices of the University. Mr. Chace was later recruited by the Office of Latino Affairs at NU to design a program which counseled and prepared at-risk Latino/a high school and college students to enter under-represented college majors and professions. This highly successful program earned him recognition from the New England Board of Higher Education as a "Regional Leader in At-Risk Student Support" and a citation from NU President John Curry for service to the University and Boston communities. After leaving Northeastern, Mr. Chace worked as a teacher and guidance counselor at Boston High School and Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton, MA before coming home to Rhode Island. From 1999 to 2005, Tim acted as the K-12 Director of Student Services and Counseling for the West Warwick Public Schools. Mr. Chace is currently completing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Johnson & Wales University, and expects to defend his dissertation during the 2006-07 school year. The dissertation is entitled: "Examining State and Building-Level Capacity to Assist Failing Schools." Tim has been recognized twice- in the 1999 and 2004 editions of "Who's Who in American Education" for leadership and innovation in the field of guidance and counseling.

School Counselor - Grade 10

Erin Ward erin_ward@nksd.net

(401) 268-6244

Mrs. Ward graduated from Clemson University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in Sociology, concentrating in social work. Upon returning to RI, Erin worked with as a case manager with at-risk youth in the South County area. She then began work as a behavior therapist with Autistic children doing in-home therapy for the Groden Center in Providence. Mrs. Ward continued this work for 2 years before pursuing her Master's degree in School Counseling at James Madison University. During her 3 years in Virginia, Erin worked as an intern and interim school counselor at Elkton Middle School. Mrs Ward gained a broad range of experience including classroom guidance, individual and group counseling and using data to design programs to increase student performance. Ms. Ward earned both a Masters and an Educational Specialist Degree in 2004. Upon completion of her degree Mrs. Ward began working as a clinician in the CIS program at the Kent Center in Warwick, RI. During her year and a half at the Kent Center, Mrs Ward has worked with children and their families providing individual, group, and family counseling. Mrs Ward has collaborated closely with the Warwick and West Warwick school systems to coordinate services for children and families. Mrs. Ward brings a strong background in counseling, student support and development to NKHS, where she will actively work with our 9th and 10th grade students.

School Counselor - Grade 9

Cindy Normand cindy_normand@nksd.net

(401) 268-6261

Mrs. Normand has been with the North Kingstown School System for 21 years, 14 as a teacher, and the last seven as a school counselor. A graduate of Cumberland High School, Mrs. Normand received a Bachelors Degree in Health Education and a Masters Degree in Health Education from Rhode Island College. Mrs. Normand taught health education at Wickford Middle School for fourteen years. During that time, Cindy earned a Masters Degree in school counseling from Providence College and for the past seven years, Mrs. Normand has worked as a school counselor at NKHS. As a resident of North Kingstown for the past fifteen years and a parent with two teenagers of her own, Cindy has a unique perspective of what our students need and what parents expect in NK. In addition to being the grade 10 school counselor, Cindy also acts as the 2007 class advisor.

School Counselor - Grade 11/12 A-K

Donna Sweet

(401) 268-6238 donna_sweet@nksd.net

Mrs. Sweet graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in English. While teaching for seven years at Westerly High school, Mrs. Sweet developed several academic programs to assist at risk learners while she continued her education, earning a Master's Degree in Guidance at Rhode Island College. She then moved from the classroom to the Westerly Guidance Department where she worked as the Grade 9 counselor for two years, again identifying strategies and designing programs to assist academically at-risk students by developing an after school program designed to help student learn study skills. Mrs. Sweet will be working here at NKHS as a grade 11/12 counselor for students whose names end in the letters A-K. She will be helping students to make wise decisions based on their strengths, needs and future goals.

School Counselor - Grade 11/12 L-Z

Karen Fontes

(401) 268- 6267 karen_fontes@nksd.net

Ms. Fontes brings an eclectic background of experiences and skills to the guidance department at North Kingstown High School. Over the past year she has taught psychology and sociology classes on an adjunct basis at both Johnson & Wales University and the New England Institute of Technology. Karen's other educational experiences include serving as a guidance counselor at St. Mary Academy - Bay View and 11 years of employment as a counselor and administrator at Johnson & Wales University.

Ms. Fontes is excited to be working with our grade 11/12 students whose names end in the letters L-Z. Her experiences on both the high school and college level will be crucial as she helps our students prepare to enter college and the professional world.

School Counselor - Grades 9-12, Special Ed/504 Students

Patricia Atkinson-Santos

(401) 268- 6246 pat_atkinson-santos@nksd.net

Mrs. Atkinson-Santos is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a degree in education. Pat taught for reading for several years in New Hampshire, where she earned a Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Plymouth State University. Pat then worked as a school counselor in New Hampshire before an opportunity to work with the U.S. Department of Education brought her to this area. Her focus was on School-to-Work programs in New England schools. She later returned to public high school work as a school counselor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At Westport High School, she served as the Assistant Dean of Student Services, coordinating Special Education and 504 services for all students at the high school. She has since became involved in the R.I. School Counseling Initiative sponsored by the American School Counseling Association. Mrs. Atkinson-Santos' belief that all students can learn and perform at high levels strongly supports the ASCA model that we use at NKHS and her experience and commitment to students with special needs makes her a strong advocate for the students and families she will serve here.

North Kingstown High School

Home of the Skippers

150 Fairway Drive
North Kingstown, RI 02852
Guidance Phone: 401-268-6240

Timothy S. Chace

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