Counselor

Proud to be Kennedy Best!

School Counselors also work one-on-one with students struggling to deal with friendships, personal concerns, academic issues, or family concerns. This could be a one time meeting or on a more regular, short-term basis. However, school counselors are not licensed therapists and do not provide therapy. The main focus when working with individual students is to support their ability to cope with situations that interfere with their success in the classroom. If a student's needs are beyond what can be provided in the school setting, the school counselor can help families find the appropriate community resources.

Students are able to request to visit the counselor via counseling request slips. The school counselor's promise to each child is to help them the best that we can and to keep our conversations private... that we will not tell other people. But, if a student tell the counselor someone is hurting them, someone else is hurt, or that they want to hurt someone else, we must help them by telling someone else. When we need to tell someone else, we let the student know first as we are here to help them the best that we can.

Small group social skills or support groups provide students the opportunity to further develop skills and gain peer support from other students in their grade or who have similar experiences. Any student may participate in a small group if they have a social, emotional, or behavior need. Group referrals may come from a child's parents/ guardians, teachers, and students themselves. Counseling groups meet for approximately 8-12 sessions and meet every week for 20-30 minutes. Parents/ guardians of students in counseling groups will be notified when the group begins and given information about the specific goals and topics their student's group will cover. Small groups are skills-based and is not group therapy. If more intensive services are needed for a student, the counselor may provide referral options.

Some of the counseling small groups offered include:

• friendship/social skills
• positive school behaviors
• anger management
• family change/divorce
• worry management
• study skill success
• grief/ loss
• self-confidence
• self-control

Throughout the year, the school counselor visits each classroom monthly and presents various developmental guidance lessons to all students. These lessons are designed to promote student's knowledge, attitudes, and skills in each of the school counseling content areas (academic achievement, career development, and personal/ social growth). Students will receive lessons through out the year based on our district's core values and counseling ELO's (Essential Learner Outcomes). School counselors will supplement with additional lessons as needed to support classroom needs.

September:  Introduction to the School Counselor Lesson
October:  Respect
November:  Collaboration (focus is on working together to solve problems)
December:  Initiative
Tattling vs. Reporting (K-1)
Stand up to and Stop Bullying (2-5)
January:  Engagement
February:  Responsibility
March:  Excellence
April:  Integrity
May: Careers