School Counseling Services

EPASD provides school counselors for all district schools. Three are assigned to the high school, two for the middle school and one for each elementary school. Our school counselors strive to be a resource for students and parents regarding academic success, personal/social wellness, and information about college and career readiness.

 

What is a School Counselor?

• School counselors (formerly referred to as “guidance counselors”) are professional educators who have a Masters Degree or higher in School Counseling, and are certified by the state in which they work.  School counselors a referred to as such because the world has changed.

Guidance counselors’ main role was to “guide” students into college and the world of work – writing letters of recommendation, helping with college applications, etc.

School counselors, in contrast, focus not only on college and career entry, but on comprehensive, holistic student development.  This expanded role involves three primary domains of work:

 

• Academic Planning and Development: strategies, activities, and interventions that maximize each student’s ability to learn and succeed with their coursework

 

• Career Planning and Development: strategies, activities, and interventions that help students understand the connection between school and the world of work, and the planning for a successful transition fromschool into the work force, including any postsecondary training or education necessary for their desired career

 

• Personal/Social Development and Support: strategies, activities, and interventions that help students learn to manage their emotions and to apply interpersonal skills appropriately

 

School counselors provide these services through four primary delivery systems:

 

• School Counseling Curriculum:  activities, classroom lessons, and programs that every student, every year experiences as part of their educational program

 

• Individual Student Planning:  one-on-one student meetings to discuss personalized goals, strengths, areas for improvement, academic progress, and to develop future plans for school and beyond.  School counselors help students appraise their abilities, interests, skills, and achievement, and they also provide advisement on student goals based on their academic/career/personal data

 

• Responsive Services:  individual and group counseling that is planned and goal-focused, and short-term in nature; crisis response when students are experiencing critical and emergency situations

 

• Indirect Student Services:  providing referrals to school and/or community resources to students and families when needs arise; providing consultation to and for parents, teachers, educators, and community organizations when discussing the needs of their student; working collaboratively with educators, parents, and the community to support student achievement and advocate for equity and access for all students to meaningful academic, career, and social/emotional learning experiences