What does an elementary school counselor do?

The elementary school years set the foundation for developing the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for children to become healthy, competent and confident learners. Elementary school counselors have an impact on these years by implementing a school counseling program and collaborating with school staff, parents and the community to create a safe and respectful learning environment. By providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention, elementary school counselors help their students achieve academic success, develop an early understanding of career opportunities and develop social/emotional skills in response to issues they face. 

Parents may contact Mrs. Jeffries if they have concerns regarding their child's:

• Behavior patterns at school or home

• Friendship Skills

• Self Esteem

• Coping skills related to a family stress or changes

• Academic success or homework habits

• Interaction with bullying

SEAL (Social, Emotional and Academic learning)

All students (K-6) participate in SEAL lessons that are delivered in the classroom on a bi-monthly basis. The primary goal of SEAL lessons is to provide information, teach skills, and provide practices to prevent problems before they begin.

The objectives of these lessons focus on the following themes:

• Nurturing Attitudes 

• Responsibility 

• Dependability 

• Friendship

• Brotherhood

• High expectations

• Courage 

• Hope 

Please Join Us! Parents are always welcome to visit a SEAL Lesson.  Please contact me if you are interested!

Small groups 

Small group counseling is offered to provide additional, targeted support to children with common needs or concerns. The goal of small group counseling is to teach skills that will help your child be successful in school, friendships, and within the family. Groups typically meet for 6-8 weeks for 30 minutes each week. Group size is usually 4-6 children. Parent permission is required for students to participate in small groups.

Common group topics are listed below.

• Anxiety/Worry & Coping skills 

• Divorce 

• Grief 

• Self-esteem 

• Social skills 

• Anger 

Please contact Mrs. Jeffries for more information on groups or if you want to recommend your child for an upcoming group. 

Individual student counseling 

Individual student counseling is a resource that has proven to be highly effective in schools. Counselors employ their expertise by identifying student problems as well as resolving these problems using established counseling methods. 

Individual counseling is typically:

• Short term in nature

• Goal oriented 

• Involves parent/staff involvement

After an individual counseling session in a school setting, the counselor may find the issue beyond their expertise and would then find the most appropriate next action is to refer the student to other support staff or to professionals not employed by the school. 

The Counselor/Student Relationship:

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 let the students know I will break confidentiality if they are going to hurt themselves or someone else, if someone is hurting them, or if 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.

If I am meeting with a student regularly, and it will not break the students trust, nor hinder the counseling process, I will inform the parents that we are meeting.  If I would like to include a student in a group, I will notify the parents to get consent to work with the student in the group setting.Otherwise, I will only inform the parents of these meetings if it is an issue where we need your assistance or if a referral needs to be made to other resources.

Thank you for your partnership, please reach out with any questions or concerns. 

GO GECKOS! 

Kelly Jeffries