One of the responsibilities of the Primary School Guidance Counselor is to conduct individual counseling sessions with children. Referrals come from parents/guardians, teachers, administrators and children. Some of the reasons students are counseled are because of problems they may be experiencing due to separation or divorce, the death of a loved one, not getting along with classmates, not wanting to attend school, and having difficulty with school work.
Counseling is also conducted for small groups of children regarding issues of anger, friendships, behaviors, respect, and other topics that may arise due to student concerns. Classroom lessons are given on topics such as personal safety, bullying, drugs and alcohol, careers, honesty and friendship.
The Primary School guidance counselor maintains various responsibilities, activities, and tasks associated with the effective operation of the guidance office, such as the following:
- Schedule and attend parent-teacher conferences.
- Attend IEP/ER meetings.
- Meet with parents, teachers and administrators.
- Coordinate testing and administer tests.
- Create behavior reports.
- Work with community agencies.
- Make home visits.
- Intervene in crisis situations.
- Truancy responsibilities for grades K-2.
Social Emotional Learning
Social emotional learning is an important factor to support achieving academic success. The role of the K-6 School Counselor at Washington Park School is to provide services to teach social emotional skills to all students. These services include brief individual counseling, small group counseling and classroom lesson plans. In addition, the K-6 School Counselor works collaboratively with administration, teachers and community-based agencies on various tasks.
Social emotional programs include:
- Student Assistance Program (SAP)
- Blessings in a Backpack
- Operation Warm Coat Distribution
- Red Ribbon Week/Drug and Alcohol Prevention
- Truancy Responsibilities
