What I do as a School Counselor
Whole classroom, small group and individual counseling
My Role
My role as a School Counselor is to provide support in the areas of academic, career, and social emotional growth and understanding. I spend much of my time teaching the pillars of character in my classroom. I see every classroom in the school each week for the entire school year. I also see students that have requested to speak with me (also through parent/teacher referral) on an individual or small group basis. Occasionally, though I pull only the kids that have requested or have been referred on a regular basis I need to see other student to get a fuller picture of what is happening. Sometimes the students request to bring along a friend(s) or a confidant. In some cases while meeting with a student they ask if they can bring the same friend or meet with what turns out to be the same people. Those students are not in my "case load" and I am not working with them for any reason other than the request of a student (or parent/teacher).
What is a small group?
It's exactly what it sounds like. Me and any where between 2 and 5 students that are meeting for a specific reason. I run small groups with the topics of Grief, Divorce, Anger, Social, behavior, middle school prep, internet safety and many others. If you would like to know if your child could be part of a group I would be happy to talk to you any time.
How do you know if you I am meeting with your child?
Ask them:) As I said I meet with all of the students in the school for Classroom Guidance. I may have pulled your child in to talk with them in relation to an incident that happened. I could be because they came with another student that needed a friend. Maybe they were asked to sit in with another student to eat lunch. Given the variety of reasons and often spontaneous timing of meeting with different students it would be virtually impossible to notify every parent every time I met with their child. If you would like to be made aware when I meet with your child for any reason please call the school and speak with me. If you would like to opt your child out of speaking to me for any reason I would again ask you to call the school and speak with me. Or if you have any other questions please reach out. My contact information is below.
Thank you!
Ry