What do elementary school counselors do?

The school counselors, social worker and school psychologist work with school staff, parents and the community to help students to have a positive and successful school experience. The primary focus of the counseling program at the elementary level is prevention and preparation in the domains of academic development, college and career readiness and social and emotional development.

School counselors work with all students and help to empower them with self-knowledge, positive interpersonal skills and coping strategies for issues that elementary students typically face.

Counselors meet weekly to discuss students in need of extra support as well as review academic attendance and discipline data. The district uses and MTSS model to consider multiple data points to determine whether a child’s social, emotional or behavior needs are interfering with their academic success.

You can learn more about the role of elementary school counselors here.

Some of the ways that they help include:

Individual

Sometimes it helps to talk to someone.

Meet with students individually for a variety of reasons. Students may want to talk about problems such as peer issues and being successful in school.

Small Group

Sometimes it helps to talk to each other.

Counselors meet with small groups of children who have similar concerns. When students hear others talk about feelings or handling problems, they get ideas that they can use for themselves. Group topics include but are not limited to: social skills, academic readiness, stress management and anger management issues.

In The Classroom

We can all learn from each other.

Each year the elementary counseling department will teach a series of lessons in the classroom. Some of the programs they use to spark discussion are personal safety, emotions and how to understand them, and social skills.

Through Consultation

Parents and teachers need to talk, too.

The staff works closely with teachers and parents to plan for students, discuss helpful strategies for problems, and to review progress. In addition, staff will refer student and or family to outside programs when needed.