The times have definitely changed and our guidance counselors are more important than ever before. Since February 2-6 was National Guidance Counselor Week, I thought this would be a good time to fill everyone in on just what our guidance counselors do in our schools these days. I'm not sure that everyone has a clear picture of the enormous responsibilities we place on our counselors.
Depending on the grade or age of a student, listed here is just some of what can take place in a counselor's day:
- Early intervention of academic needs
- Social skills
- Decision making skills
- Goal setting
- Substance abuse education
- Referrals
- Consultations
- Career awareness
- Conflict resolution
- Collaborating with parents, teachers, administrators
- Counseling goals for IEP students
- Organizational skills
- Assessments
- Coping strategies
- Providing resources for parents, students and staff
- Suicide prevention
- Anti-bullying education
- Parent phone calls
- Career Day
- School climate
- Behavioral management plans
- Scheduling changes
- Continuing professional development
- Academic plans
- Mental health issues
- Graduation
- Developing positive attitudes
- Transitioning students from one school to another
- Seacoast School of Technology decisions and scheduling
- College awareness
- Boyfriend/girlfriend issues
- Education on making good choices
- Peer mediation
- Help with the grieving process
- Crisis intervention
- Attendance issues
- Evaluating data
- Introducing new students to the school community
- Meeting with school resource officer
- Problem solving skills
- Instrumental part of many school committees
- Compiling transcripts
- Hearings
- Letters of recommendation
How many students does a counselor interact with in a day? It varies. Do we count all the times they get stopped in the hall? The unexpected phone calls? The unplanned meetings? The crisis that just happened? The calls to come to the office for a student? Just the scheduled appointments? The parent/student meetings? What about their RAP group? Calls to the playground for an issue? There may be a daily agenda put in place by one of the counselors, but we all know what they say about "the best- laid plans". One thing I do know, their days are never 'boring'!
The American School Counselor Association has much more on the following web pages, including tips for parents and information on the many hats our school counselors wear:
http://schoolcounselor.org/administrators/role-of-the-school-counselor.aspx
http://schoolcounselor.org/parents-public
Here's a huge 'thank you' to: Sue Puchaz, Bryan Lister, and Tricia Wentworth (our high school counselors); Suzanne Lussier, Lindy Moule, and Jill Dunham (our middle school counselors); and Veronica Forman and Allie Chartrand (our elementary school counselors). I truly appreciate everything you do for our students and staff!
