Why Should a Student See a School Counselor? 

A. Academic/Educational Counseling – Students sometimes have academic problems in areas including study habits, expectations, time management, organizational skills, and the level of the curriculum. A counselor may assist students in exploring solutions to these and other academic problems. 

 B. Personal/Social Counseling – A counselor may assist students to develop skills to interact more effectively with others, identify personal values, talents, and interests, and transition into and out of middle school. The counselor will also provide support and assistance to students and families in crisis and can provide referrals to outside agencies for more extensive assistance including counseling, evaluations, or treatment. 

 C. Career/Vocational Counseling – A school counselor may assist students in the early stages of career exploration.

Benefits of School Counseling Services 

For Students: 

● Ensures every student receives the benefit of the school counseling program by designing a content curriculum for every student. 

● Monitors data to facilitate student improvement. 

● Provides strategies for closing the achievement gap because some students need more. 

● Promotes a rigorous academic curriculum for every student. 

● Ensures equitable access to educational opportunities. 

● Fosters advocacy for students. 

● Supports the development of skills to increase student success. 

The school counselor works directly with students in individual and group counseling sessions as well as in classroom lessons so students may: 

● Adjust to a new school. 

● Be successful in school. 

● Establish effective study skills. 

● Develop positive feelings about work, family, and society. 

● Build positive feelings towards self and others. 

● Develop skills in interacting and communicating with others. 

● Cope with change in themselves and their surroundings. 

● Identify and accept their own and others’ strengths and weaknesses.

● Recognize the causes and effects of their actions. 

● Become responsible for their behavior. 

● Receive crisis intervention when necessary. 

The school counselor helps students become motivated learners and encourages them to discuss concerns with their parents or guardians. When students work through their social and emotional issues with the help of their parents or guardians and the counselor, they are able to devote attention and energy to the intellectual tasks at school.

For Parents or Guardians: 

● Provides support in advocating for their children’s academic career and personal-social development. 

● Supports partnerships in their children’s learning and career planning. 

● Ensures academic planning for every student. 

● Ensures access to school and community resources. 

● Provides training and informational workshops. 

● Connects to community and school-based services. 

● Provides data for continuous information on student progress. 

● Ensures every student receives the content of the school counseling curriculum. 

● Promotes a philosophy that some students need more and seeks to ensure they receive it. 

The school counselor works with parents or guardians through individual consultation, joint consultation with their children’s teachers, and parent or guardians discussion groups. In these ways, the counselor assists parents to: 

● Understand their children’s progress in school. 

● Select strategies to motivate their children. 

● Develop realistic goals with their children 

● Become actively involved in their children’s school life. 

● Understand the educational program K-12. 

The counselor may lead parent or guardian education and discussion groups and serve as a resource when parents study or discuss child-related issues. The counselor consults with parents or guardians to identify students with special abilities and/or needs. In this capacity, the counselor helps parents or guardians understand the services available from other school staff such as the school psychologist, school social worker, Public Health Nurse, and resource teachers. The counselor helps parents or guardians find other professionals within the school system or within the larger community when extra support is needed.

For the Community: 

The entire community benefits from the school counseling program because: 

● All students in the entire school system are served. 

● A clearly defined curriculum provides information about the program to the community. 

● Businesses, industry, and labor can participate actively in the program. ● A potential workforce is provided with decision-making skills and pre-employment skills. 

For Teachers: 

● Promotes an interdisciplinary team approach to address student needs and educational goals. 

● Increases collaboration with school counselors and teachers. 

● Supports the development of classroom management skills. 

● Provides a system for the co-facilitation of classroom lessons. 

● Supports the learning environment. 

● Promotes teaming to increase student achievement. 

● Analyzes data to improve school climate and student achievement. 

For Administrators: 

● Aligns the school counseling program with the school’s academic mission. 

● Provides a school counseling program promoting student success. 

● Monitors data for school improvement. 

Provides a system for managing a school counseling program. 

● Articulates a process for evaluating a school counseling program. ● Uses data to jointly develop school counseling goals and school counselor responsibilities. 

● Provides useful data for grant applications and funding sources. ● Provides a proactive school counseling curriculum addressing the student's needs and enhancing the school climate. 

(Adapted from ASCA National Model, 2005)

Social Emotional Learning

SEL At-Home Activities

The Mississippi K-12 SEL Standards are divided into five domains:

• Domain 1: Self-awareness is the ability to identify one’s thoughts, values, and emotions and recognize how these shape behaviors. Self-awareness involves the assessment of one’s abilities (i.e., strengths and areas of growth) and includes the need for confidence, optimism, and knowledge of which areas can be improved.
• Domain 2: Self-management is the ability to self-regulate emotions, thoughts, and behaviors across settings and to set and work towards personal and academic goals.
• Domain 3: Social awareness is the ability to empathize with and relate to others, including those from diverse backgrounds. Social awareness involves understanding societal norms for behavior and contributing to community well-being.
• Domain 4: Relationship skills include the ability to effectively communicate, cooperate, seek and provide support to others, manage conflict, and effectively handle peer pressure in order to establish and maintain positive relationships.
• Domain 5: Decision-making skills include the ability to make constructive choices and problem-solve based on safe, ethical, and social norms while evaluating the outcomes of previous choices