What is a school counselor?
School counselors:
Provide Personal Support by:
Listening and Problem-Solving
School counselors are trained to be good listeners who provide support when students want to share their problems. They help students talk things through and make informed decisions.
Providing Extra Help
If needed, they assist students and families in accessing extra support or resources.
Give Academic Support through:
Study Skills Coaching
They coach students on study skills.
Assisting with Academic Challenges
If a student is having difficulties in a class or wants to improve their grades, counselors offer guidance.
Support Social and Emotional Development by:
Providing classroom lessons and small group/individual sessions
- Tier 1 instruction is provided to ALL students throughout the school year on topics that support the academic, career, and personal social domains. This is done through classroom lessons and "Wellness Wednesday" segments on the morning news.
- Small groups are ran based on what needs are presented in monthly data (parent permission is obtained prior to students being placed in a small group).
- Individual sessions help students practice skills in a private, supportive setting. To receive an individual session, students can refer themselves or be referred by staff members or parents/guardians.
School counselors do NOT:
Punish students:
While students may come to the counselor after making a poor choice, counselors help students brainstorm ideas on how to make better choices in the future. Counselors remind students that EVERYONE makes mistakes, and learning from them makes us smarter!
Judge students:
Our students come from all walks of life. Counselors are not here to judge students or families; we are here to provide a welcoming, supportive environment where everyone feels accepted.
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Will the counselor contact me every time my child goes to the counselor's office?
Typically, the answer is no, counselors do NOT call for every counselor visit.
Usually, students come to the counselor with issues that are minor and can be solved or talked through within a few minutes. This could range from being upset about being redirected in class to having a disagreement with a classmate. Sometimes, the student is having strong emotions and just needs a quiet place to calm down. Instead of contacting parents/guardians each time, I encourage students to fill in their adults at home on what's going on themselves.
However, if the issue being presented by the student is a safety concern or it's an ongoing issue, I always loop parents/guardians in so we can come up with a plan of support. Parents are always welcome to reach out for any reason, if they need more clarification on an issue or have further questions or concerns, as well.
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