Golden Knight: Counseling Edition

The RHS Counseling Department is thrilled to be back and ready to support our students and families as we begin another year of growth, learning, and opportunity. Our Counseling team had a great summer preparing for the year ahead. With Counselor Days at PSU, lots of registrations for new students and 2 successful college prep workshops this summer, we were busy getting gearing up for the 2026-27 school year.

Counselors have already led Senior Class Meetings on September 10th and 11th during lunch and learn periods. These meetings were a lead up to the Senior Conferences starting the week of September 14th! You can find that presentation here!

While students can schedule meetings as needed throughout the year, our counselors will first be meeting individually with 12th grade students this fall to support with post-secondary planning. After seniors, all 11th grade students will have individual conferences followed by 9th grade student meetings. Our 10th graders will participate in Developmental Counseling lessons this year that will support them in their career exploration. As needed we will also hold class meetings like the one for the Class of 2026 that was held last week, to discuss relevant topics as the year goes on.

The Counseling Department is here to help with academic planning, social-emotional support, and college and career readiness. We encourage families to reach out at any time—our team is just a phone call or email away. Additionally, we also strongly encourage and empower our students to take the lead in seeking support when they need it. Advocating for themselves not only builds confidence and independence but also helps them form meaningful relationships with the caring adults here to support them.

Please keep an eye out for the Counseling Edition of the Golden Knight throughout the school year. We’re looking forward to a great year together!

Sincerely,

Your RHS Counseling Team

Colleen Demers (A-Da): cdemers@wcacsd.net

This is Mrs. Demers’ 15th year as a school counselor, and her third year at Rustin. Prior to joining the RHS Counseling Team, she was a school counselor at Avon Grove for two years and a school counselor in Massachusetts for ten years. While in Massachusetts, Mrs. Demers also worked as an outpatient therapist in both college and community mental health settings. She is a proud Penn State grad, loyal Philly sports fan (Gritty holds a special place in her heart), and distance runner. When she is not training for marathons, she enjoys practicing yoga, going to the beach with her family, and taking her rescue pup for walks and to the dog park.

Shaz Brown (De-Hy): sbrown3@wcasd.net

Mr. Brown is entering his 22nd year as a high school counselor & his 16th year at Rustin. He has served as an assistant football coach for 23 years (Wide Receivers/Corners/JV HC) and head boys indoor and outdoor track and field coach for 15 years (Mid-Distance/Distance). Outside of school, he is an avid sports fan and proud Villanova graduate (B.A.,‘02, M.S.,‘05)! In his free time (aka not at a Rustin football game or track meet), Mr. Brown is usually at one of his kids’ sporting events or developing a new recipe to dominate the office cooking competition.

Grace Barry (Ia-McG): gbarry@wcasd.net

Mrs. Barry has been a school counselor for over 29 years, including the last 9 years at Rustin. Before beginning her career in education, she spent 7 years in the banking industry at MBNA. Her favorite role was working as a Marketing Manager and educator. Outside of Rustin, Mrs. Barry enjoys spending time with her family and keeping up with her two college students. Her daughter is a junior at the University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!), and her son is a freshman at Penn State University (We Are!). She looks forward to visiting them at school, especially for football games, basketball games, and tailgates, and enjoying this exciting new stage of life with them. In her free time, Mrs. Barry enjoys CrossFit, pickleball, basketball, music, and traveling. She especially loves spending summers traveling with family and relaxing at her happy place, Stone Harbor—where she is perfectly happy doing very little, as long as there’s a beach and good friends involved!

Casey Cerullo (McH-Sca): ccerullo@wcasd.net

Ms. Cerullo is in her 7th year as a school counselor, and this is her second year at Rustin. Prior to working at RHS, Ms. Cerullo worked at Stetson Middle School for 3 years and in Great Valley prior to that. Throughout the school year Ms. Cerullo works with Family Services of Chester County after school facilitating the Strengthening Families program for teens and their families. When not working, she likes to cook new recipes, work out, do anything outdoors (already missing summer weather!), and play with her adorable 2 golden retrievers.

Heather Selgrath (Sch-Z): hselgrath@wcasd.net

This is Ms. Selgrath’s 4th year at RHS after being at Stetson Middle School for 20 years. While she is always excited to start a new school year, this year is extra special to see the Class of 2027 graduate as they have been working together since the start of their 6th grade year. Outside of school you can find Ms. Selgrath is on the sidelines at baseball (trying to understand what's going on) or in the audience at a musical singing along. Her daughter and son's activities keep her pretty busy but she also enjoys seeing live music, trying new coffee shops, getting to the beach with a good book as often as possible, and exploring college campuses in her free time!

Nicole Ray (Intervention Specialist): nray@wcasd.net

Ms. Ray is thrilled to be returning to Rustin for her fourth year. Before joining the Rustin community, she spent more than a decade working with adolescents in the Philadelphia School District. A clinically licensed social worker, Ms. Ray earned her bachelor’s degree from Temple University and her master’s degree from Bryn Mawr College. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and relaxing at the beach. Ms. Ray is excited to continue being part of the Rustin Counseling Department and looks forward to supporting students and their families throughout the school year.

Heather Wilson (Career Counselor): hwilson@wcasd.net

Ms. Wilson made the jump this year to working with high school students after 21 years in elementary and middle school. Her first job was at Chester Community Charter School (grades 2-3), followed by eight years at Tinicum School (grades 1-8) in Interboro School District. She came to WCASD in 2013 and has been at Glen Acres Elementary School until now. She couldn't be more excited about the change and being with the big kids! Outside of school, Ms. Wilson loves watching her 14-year-old daughter play volleyball, hanging out with her dogs, working out, playing word/board games, enjoying the outdoors, or watching reality TV.

Cortney Encarnacion (Home & School Visitor): cencarnacion@wcasd.net

This is Mrs. Encarnacion’s 3rd year at RHS and 9th year working as a Social Worker/Home & School Visitor in Chester County. Mrs. Encarnacion graduated from UMass-Amherst and obtained her MSW at Temple University. Outside of school she loves spending time with her family, cheering for her two teenagers at their sports events, doing outdoor activities, traveling, and going to the beach.

Staci McCans (Mental Health Specialist): smccans@wcasd.net

Mrs. McCans has been at Rustin for 5 years and this is the first year she will at RHS every day instead of splitting her time at both Westtown Thornbury and Stetson. She has been working in the field of mental health for over 11 years. Previously, she was a school social worker for Springfield School District and the clinical quality manager of an IOP program serving Delaware county. She enjoys laughing with friends and spending time with family. Mrs. McCans can typically be spotted enjoying an ice cold diet coke or hot coffee in hand.

Anne Gibbons (Mental Health Specialist): agibbons@wcasd.net

Ms. Gibbons is enjoying her second year on the Rustin team- while also spending her week supporting students at Stetson and Westtown-Thornbury! With more than 20 years of experience in the mental health field, Ms. Gibbons has had the opportunity to work with people of all ages and from a variety of backgrounds. She began her career working in schools in Philadelphia and, more recently, has supported adolescents and young adults within Chester County. Ms. Gibbons is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She earned her BA in Psychology and Theater from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and her Masters degree from Bryn Mawr College. When she’s not at school, Ms. Gibbons loves getting outside, going for hikes, spending time with her family, and enjoying some well-deserved cuddle time with her two cats! She is happy to be part of the Rustin community and looks forward to supporting students throughout the school year.

Evangeline Kern (School Psychologist): ekern@wcasd.net

Dr. Kern has been at Rustin for 17 years. She is a graduate of Ursinus College and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has three children who are proud graduates of Rustin High School (classes of ‘15, ‘17 and ‘20)! Outside of Rustin, Dr. Kern enjoys traveling, going to the beach, and spending time with her husband and kids. She especially enjoys beach time with her amazing and energetic Vizsla named Dawkins!

Kelly Bidegary (Administrative Assistant): kbidegary@wcasd.net

Ms. Bidegary joined WCASD and Rustin at the end of last school year as the Counseling Office Secretary. Ms. Bidegary is excited to continue getting to know our students, staff, and families. Outside of work, she is a mom to three daughters, and her home is always busy with two dogs and three cats. Ms. Bidegary is happy to be here and looks forward to a great year together!

September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness, show support, and remind one another that no one is ever alone. Starting on Tuesday the 22nd, students will see a “Take What You Need” wall in the lobby, filled with uplifting words and messages that anyone can take when they need a little extra encouragement. Our morning announcements will also share positive reminders each day during the week. In addition, we invite all students and staff to wear yellow on Wednesday, the 23rd to show solidarity, spread hope, and continue important conversations about mental health and support in our school community.

Click here if you or someone you know needs mental health suppport!

Please contact Mrs. Seeker (nseeker@wcasd.net) if you currently receive documented academic accommodations and are interested in applying for accommodation(s) on the SAT or have questions about that process. Requests take about 6-8 weeks to process.

For accommodations on the ACT, please reach out to your School Counselor.

Accommodations are not guaranteed.

Register for the SAT on your CollegeBoard account & ACT on their website!

www.collegeboard.org & www.act.org

Practice SAT Opportunity

All 10th and 11th grade students will have the opportunity to take the Practice SAT (PSAT) on October 15th at Rustin High School. Details about that day will be shared as we get closer to the date. This practice test is free to those students.

SAT School Day Administration!!

This exciting new opportunity will be happening on April 7th, 2027 at Rustin High School. On that day all 11th grade students will take the SAT for FREE! All class of 2028 students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. Details will be shared as we get closer to the administration date.

Click on the picture above for other SAT and ACT administration dates for this school year!

For important events and information, each RHS student belongs to a grade-level "Post-Secondary Planning" page on Schoology. To find the page, they should click on "Courses", and it should be listed there. If they don't see it, have them reach out to Ms. Heather Wilson (Career Education Counselor). College fairs, rep visits, volunteer and job opportunities are posted on Schoology regularly, either on grade-level pages or the main Rustin page.

If students want to see a comprehensive list of opportunities for jobs and volunteering in one location, there are two new portals for them to access. They will be updated as information is received:

WCASD Student Job Portal: JOB PORTAL LINK

WCASD Volunteer Portal: VOLUNTEER PORTAL LINK

For all things Career Counseling @ Rustin, check out Ms. Wilson's newsletter.

PHEAA devotes energy, resources, and imagination to developing innovative ways to ease the financial burden of higher education by offering a variety of funding opportunities. A couple of their webinars are highlighted below, but click here for a wider variety of opportunities for your post-secondary funding needs.

There are many scholarship search engines out there and it can sometimes be a full-time job searching for ones for which you meet the criteria! Here are some sites many of our families utilize for their free money quests!

Search Engines (this is not an exhaustive list)

a. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

b. https://www.fastweb.com/

c. https://scholarshipamerica.org/

d. https://www.tfec.org/

Also, If you haven't checked out the District posted scholarships on Schoolinks, you should do that now! As we receive notification in the Counseling Department throughout the year, we will be posting them on our Schoolinks page.

After logging into Schoolinks go to:

1. "College" tab on the left
2. Click "Scholarship Matching"
3. And toggle the "District posted" button at the top

Never accessed your parent account before? You can find login instructions button at the bottom of this newsletter!

WCASD is offering students the opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) during this school year, in conjunction with the ASVAB Career Exploration Program. The ASVAB Career Exploration Program employs an interest assessment alongside ASVAB results to allow students to explore careers, independent of military considerations. The ASVAB, a multiple-aptitude exam, measures developed abilities and aids in predicting future academic and occupational success.

The ASVAB will be administered on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at Rustin High School. All sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to take this free aptitude and interest test by completing the permission form. Students interested in participating should report to Rustin’s library by 7:15AM, as the test will commence promptly at 7:30AM. The test duration is approximately two to three hours, and students are responsible for any missed classwork.

For more information about this assessment, go to: http://www.asvabprogram.com/

For the permission slip to take this test click here or stop in the Counseling Office to pick one up!