What does the school counselor do?

Duties
According to new state legislation (CA Assembly Bill 1802), middle school counselors have been added to school sites in order to focus on academic counseling services. This will include, but is not limited to:

• Discussing academic and deportment records with students and their parents
• Explaining educational and career options
• Explaining coursework/ academic progress needed to earn a high school diploma
• Providing information on the CAHSEE
• Reviewing STAR test scores
• Explaining the importance of students’ performance on standardized assessments
• Providing information on study skills, afterschool enrichment programs, and outside academic services

In addition to academic counseling, the counselor will be addressing social-emotional and behavioral issues. These issues may include, but are not limited to:

• Social skills
• Family transitions
• Eating disorders
• Suicidal thoughts/ ideation
• Self-mutilation (cutting)
• Alcohol/ drug use
• Sexual activity
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Frequent health concerns (headaches, stomach aches, etc).
• Friendship issues
• Changes in behavior or mood
• Grief/ loss/ death
• Divorce/ separation
• Self-esteem
• Abuse
• Crisis issues

The school counselor is also present as a resource to parents, teachers, and staff. The counselor is here to provide support and resources for the entire school community. If there is a counseling issue you have questions or concerns about, please let the counselor know. The school counselor also has a library of resources that can be loaned out to parents, students, teachers and staff.

The counselor may meet with a student individually, in a group, or for periodic check-ins.

The school counselor is not involved in discipline.
Referrals

If you have a concern about a student, there are a number of ways to get in touch with the counselor. Please use the referral forms provided by the counselor. Extras will be available in the front office and in an envelope in the staff lounge. Please fill these out as completely as possible and return to the counselor’s mailbox. If possible, please alert the student’s parents/ guardians of your concerns before you refer to the counselor. A call from the counselor can be a bit shocking to parents if they have not been previously alerted to the concerns. For more pressing issues, you can refer a student via email, phone, or a sealed message in the counselor’s mailbox.

Students may be referred to the counselor through a number of channels:

• Parents
• Teachers
• Administration
• Self
• Friends
• Other staff
• Counselor review of records

Before you refer a student to the counselor, please make sure that you have implemented a few strategies of your own. It is important that the counselor spends her time wisely on students who really need her help. If the student is a behavior issue, consider what strategies you can implement in the classroom or perhaps speak to an administrator first. If it is a social-emotional issue, consider reaching out to the child yourself. If an issue feels too sensitive, or if you feel unequipped to deal with it, please contact the counselor for assistance.

If a serious issue arises, where you are concerned for the student’s safety or well being, please let the counselor know immediately. Crisis and at risk counseling are also a large part of the counselors duties here at school.

The school counseling office is located in the Student Services building in the rear of campus. The office is shared with Eric Serdahl and Cindy Perales, our school psychologists. We are next door to the Time Out Room.