Counseling Services
What do school counselors do?
· Teach classroom guidance lessons
· Facilitate short-term small group counseling
· Provide immediate and short-term individual counseling
· Work collaboratively with teachers and staff
· Consult with parents
· Provide information and/or referrals for community resources to families
Why do we need school counselors?
· A deliberate and comprehensive approach to teaching children social and emotional skills can raise their grades and test scores, increase enthusiasm for learning, reduce behavior problems, and enhance cognitive functioning.
· Students who receive social skills instruction do better academically and socially but the reverse is not true (academic instruction does not increase social/emotional skills).
· There is a strong connection between emotions and learning. Students who can recognize and manage strong emotions are better learners.
· Students who attend schools with a comprehensive guidance program do significantly better on standardized tests than students who attend schools without a comprehensive guidance program. The longer the students are in schools with comprehensive guidance programs, the more they outperform their peers on standardized tests.
· Students who receive social skills instruction do better academically and socially but the reverse is not true (academic instruction does not increase social/emotional skills).
· There is a strong connection between emotions and learning. Students who can recognize and manage strong emotions are better learners.
· Students who attend schools with a comprehensive guidance program do significantly better on standardized tests than students who attend schools without a comprehensive guidance program. The longer the students are in schools with comprehensive guidance programs, the more they outperform their peers on standardized tests.
Individual Counseling
School counselors are available to meet individually with a student in circumstances when a student's educational success is being impacted. The school counselor spends time working with individual students to improve their social skills, discuss feelings, and to empower problem solving methods.
School counselors assist ALL children. While a counselor cannot provide on-going counseling, it may be appropriate for a student to receive short-term individual counseling. When more attention and intervention is required, school counselors can act as a referral agent for parents to access counseling services within the community.
School counselors assist ALL children. While a counselor cannot provide on-going counseling, it may be appropriate for a student to receive short-term individual counseling. When more attention and intervention is required, school counselors can act as a referral agent for parents to access counseling services within the community.
Small Group Counseling
The purpose of small group counseling is to complement and enhance students' learning by improving their perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. Small group counseling provides a safe setting where children, along with their peers, can increase their self awareness and improve their cooperation and communication skills. The children can learn from each other. Ultimately the goal of small group counseling is to prevent problems in the future by teaching children new skills. Every child can benefit from participation in a small group. Students can invited to join a group by parent request, teacher or counselor suggestion, or by the students themselves.
Collaborate with Teachers and Staff
Both teachers and counselors have similar goals: the educational success of each student. So, it is important that school counselors collaborate with teachers and administrators to promote student learning. If a student is having problems in a classroom, school counselors will join together with teachers to come up with some practical strategies which will remove educational barriers and enhance the learning environment of that student.
Consult with Parents
Parents and school counselors speak with each other to help the child/student on a variety of issues such as new school registration and transition, special needs, family transitions, and crisis situations. Studies have shown that children have greater academic achievement when their parents are involved in their education. Parental involvement is critical to helping a child be a successful student. Both parents and counselors can share information with each other to help meet the needs of the student. Additionally, school counselors can help put parents in touch with community resources, if the need arises.
