Why does our school have a school counselor?
Elementary school counselors are master-degreed professionals who provide a school counseling program to support students, staff, parents and the community. School counselors develop a program that is comprehensive, developmental, and preventative. The program focuses on services that address academic, career, and social/emotional development. Below is an outline of the services provided by a comprehensive school counseling program.
Children may face difficulties, which can prevent them from doing their best in school. These difficulties can include school adjustment issues, stress, family change, grief, fears, or difficulties with friendships. Having support through difficult times can be essential to a child’s educational success.
Key Components of a school counseling program
School counseling core curriculum
Each classroom will have 8 guidance lesson this year addressing the Indiana School Counseling Competencies for students. Here are some examples of topics covered in guidance lessons:
STUDENT/COUNSELOR RELATIONSHIP and confidentiality
Students are informed that if they would like to meet with me they can request a meeting through their parents or teacher, or they may ask me to meet with them. If I meet with a student once I usually inform the parent of this meeting only if it is an issue we need your assistance with or if a referral needs to be made. If I am going to meet with a student for a few times (maximum of 4-5) I will call you for consent to work with your child. I also ask for permission to include any child in a group.
An important part of the counselor and student relationship is trust. One of the ways counselors build a trusting relationship with students is through confidentiality. I talk to students at the beginning of the year about keeping information confidential. I share with students that I will try to keep the information they share with me confidential but there are times when I will need to share with other adults what the student has shared with me. I tell the students I will break confidentiality if they are going to hurt themselves or someone else, if someone is hurting them, if they tell me someone else is being hurt, or we decide it is important for us to share the information with another adult. I do share with students that problem solving is a collaborative effort and there will be times we will want to include their parents or teachers in our work.
Counselor Referral Form