Counseling Services

The Counseling Team supports students' academic, social, emotional, and career development within the school setting. They work with students individually, in small groups, or in classroom settings to help them succeed both in school and in life.  School Counselors are often a key point of contact between students and the support systems they need, aiming to remove barriers to learning and promote overall student success.

 

Academic Support 

• Assist students with study skills, time management, and organization
• Help identify learning challenges and connect students with resources
• Recognize mental health warning signs that affect academics, such as changes in school performance and attendance
• Respond to communication from teachers about problems at school impacting student success

Guide course selection and set academic goals

Social and Emotional Support

• Helping students manage emotions, cope with stress, resolve conflicts, and develop interpersonal skills
• Recognize mental health warning signs including but not limited to:
  • changes in school performance and attendance
  • Increased disciplinary problems at school
  • problems at home or with the family situation (eg. stress, trauma, divorce, substance abuse, exposure to poverty conditions, domestic violence)
  • dealing with existing mental health concerns

Provide short-term counseling focused on mental health or situational concerns

Career and College Readiness 

• Guiding students in exploring career options, setting goals

Assist students in planning for post-secondary education or vocational training.

Crisis Intervention – 

• Responding to urgent student needs related to mental health, family issues, bullying, or other critical situations
• Provide referrals to school and community resources that address serious mental health issues

Work to remove barriers to learning and support students returning to the classroom after a crisis

Collaboration – 

• Educate teachers, administrators, and families about student mental health concerns
• Provide resources and information to support understanding of mental health
• Advocate, collaborate, and coordinate with school and community to meet the needs of the whole child
• Ensure students and families have access to mental health services

Students’ unmet mental health needs pose barriers to learning and development. Because of school counselors’ training and position, they are uniquely qualified to provide instruction, appraisal and advisement and short-term counseling to students and referral services to students and their families. Although school counselors do not provide long-term mental health therapy in schools, they provide a school counseling program designed to meet the developmental needs of all students. As a component of this program, school counselors collaborate with other educators and community service providers to meet the needs of the whole child.