Counselor's Corner

SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Welcome to the Stephen Foster School Counseling page!

A school counselor works with ALL students to encourage a safe school climate of trust and respect. School Counselors meet with students to do brief, solution-focused counseling. School Counselors do not do long-term mental health counseling/therapy. If your child needs extra support, I can assist you in the referral process for outside counseling services.   School Counselors support students with:

• Managing anxiety or stress
• Behavior support
• Classroom skills (organization, testing anxiety, focusing, etc.)
• Using self-control
• Conflict mediations
• Managing emotions
• Coping skills
• Motivation, self-esteem, and confidence
• Family support
• Friendship-making skills
• Problem solving skills
• Character education
• Bullying prevention
• College and career exploration

Along with individual counseling, the school counselor also does classroom presentations, crisis intervention, runs social skills groups and provides resources to parents and teachers. The school counselor is a student advocate to help your child with their social and emotional well-being. School Counsleors also provide school-wide support , assemblies, and other fun opportunities throughout the year for your child to participate in!  Please do not hesitate to reach out to and consult with me for your students' needs!

Counseling sessions run from 6 to 8 Sessions. After they are completed, students are seen on an as needed basis. Referrals for additional support outside of school are made and communicated with parents/guardians.

Conversations between the student and counselor are considered confidential. However, there are exceptions to this confidentiality. If a counselor has reason to believe that a student is being abused, neglected, or is a danger to himself/herself or others, the counselor has the legal, ethical, and professional responsibility to report such concerns to the parents or the appropriate authorities.

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Announcements

Trimester 1 Counseling Report

The American School Counselor Association encourages School Counselors to gather data and to be intentional with our documentation and note taking so that we can share our progress.

Your support of our school counseling program is greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to work with you in partnership to help our students succeed.

 

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Here for Each Other Family Guide: Fires

Whether you’re directly impacted by a fire or living with the threat of fires around you, you have the power to soothe and comfort your child and help them feel safer and be more hopeful that things will get better. Sesame Workshop the foundation behind Sesame Street created this helpful guide to help us talk to our students about Tough Topics like Emergencies. The following guide is specific to Fires.  You can read this guide and explore ways to explain fires, remind your children about all the people helping, and bring a little calm into their day.

(English)

(Spanish)

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Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum

Stephen Foster, along with BUSD, have adopted the Second Step program for whole-school social-emotional learning! Second Step is an evidence-based guidance curriculum that effectively addresses students' social-emotional needs through weekly guidance lessons. Second Step lessons are conducted within the students' classrooms, by their teachers with assistance from the School Counselors. You can find out more information regarding Second Step at the link below:

Second Step information for Families

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): What It Is and Why It Matters

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