What does an Elementary School Counselor Do?

Elementary school counselors collaborate with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program that is proactive in nature. The purpose of the school counseling program is to ensure that all students are able to develop the academic, social emotional, and career development skills necessary to become college and career ready in a global society.

Elementary school counselors serve students directly through a variety of methods including:

Classroom Guidance

Lessons are taught to a whole class during an enrichment block that focus on academic, social emotional or career development needs identified by the teachers.

Small Group Guidance

Small groups are geared towards helping students who are dealing with a common concern or issue. In small groups, we support each other and learn coping skills to help us mitigate difficult situations. Parents and teachers can recommend students for small groups. Topics include,but are not limited to:

Grief, Divorce, Friendship Skills, Academic Skills, Anger Management, Positive Behavior, Test Taking Strategies, Dealing with Anxiety, and Self Esteem.

Individual Counseling

Some students may not respond well to a group setting, and may need to meet one on one with the counselor instead. While school counselors are not able to provide long term counseling because of their large caseload, they are able to meet with students for 3 to 4 sessions. 

Consultation and Collaboration

School Counselors consult and collaborate with teachers, parents, administrators, and medical professionals to ensure that the needs of each child are being met in the school setting. Many school counselors serve on the Multi Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Team. The MTSS team collaborates with other teachers to design intervention plans in an effort to help close gaps in learning or in social emotional development.

Crisis Intervention

School counselors are specifically trained to provide support and assistance to staff and students during a crisis situation.

"For information related to discrimination and harassment, see NHCS policies 1710 - Discrimination and Harassment Prohibited by Federal Law and 1725 - Title IX Sexual Harassment."