Student Affairs

The Office of Student Affairs provides Counseling services, Psychological support, College Guidance, Optimal Learning Services, community service guidance for students and Learning Support programs. The Student Affairs umbrella includes the following:

Advisory 9th-12th: Student profiles are created via a digital portfolio to include student academic and co-curricular highlights. Students are engaged in self awareness activities to help them define their personal and academic strengths and weaknesses in order to make optimal choices regarding academic and co-curricular programs. Advisory processes assist students in making best fit decisions regarding higher education institutions and study options.
College Guidance: Counselors work with students and invite parents to participate in the College advising process. This includes career guidance, educational testing, best fit college search, essay writing and all aspects involved in helping students achieve their higher education goals.
Scholastic Aptitude Test: ACS Athens is a licensed SAT examination center; therefore, ACS Athens is not permitted to offer SAT preparation courses. SAT activities and skill development are offered through the academic curriculum and individual support is offered in the Writing Studio.
Counseling: Academic and Career guidance is provided by Counselors who work with students individually and in groups. Counselors follow up on progress reports, quarter and semester reports, and students who are ineligible for co-curricular activities due to academic or social probation.
Counseling Psychologist: Available through the Wellness Center, a Counseling Psychologist is prepared to assist students with social-emotional concerns (more extensive counseling) as they arise and to help students develop optimal coping strategies.
Health Office: Health services are available to students throughout the school day. Students are not allowed to carry, distribute, or take medication on the ACS Athens campus. All medicine must be filed and dispensed by the school nurse; failure to do so may result in a level 6 misconduct.
Optimal Learning Support Services: Specialists provide the necessary support to students with learning differences to ensure educational success.
Wellness Center: The Wellness Center is coordinated by the Counseling Psychologist K-12, who is available to assist students with social and emotional challenges or life changes. The Counseling Psychologist also assists students during transitional times and to ensure a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Testing Center: The testing center provides, for a fee, psycho-educational testing services to ACS Athens students on-site. Testing will determine eligibility for OLP accommodations and other special learning services.

Child Study Team

By enrolling your child in our school, you agree to adhere to our Child Safety and Trust guidelines as recommended by the Child Study Team (CST), which are critical for your child's safety and success. Non-compliance with these guidelines may lead to the withdrawal of your child's admission or suspension from the school. We emphasize the importance of these rules in maintaining a secure and positive learning environment for all.

The Child Study Team (CST) monitors and analyzes a full range of student performances, including academic, social emotional, behavioral and overall well-being. The team determines which programs offered by the school will most effectively meet the students' needs and provide opportunities for them to reach their potential. CST supports students by creating intervention plans and recommending next steps for student support and growth.

In order to design and determine the best possible learning experience for each student, informal observations may involve administrators, educators and specialists throughout the day as needed, inside and outside the classroom.

The Child Study Team (CST) is made up of the Principal, Counselors, K-12 Counseling-Psychologist, the Optimal Learning Specialists, and possibly the Nurse and/or the English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. CST carefully considers input from faculty, staff, and parents on a regular basis. This team meets weekly for continued collaboration about student needs.

For each case, the process begins with a student's referral by a classroom teacher or parent.

Process of Referrals to the School’s Licensed Clinical Psychologist

According to APA (American Psychological Association) Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive mental and behavioral health care for individuals, couples, families, and groups; consultation with agencies and communities; training, education, and supervision; and research-based practice. It is a specialty in breadth — one that addresses a wide range of mental and behavioral health problems— and marked by comprehensiveness and integration of knowledge and skill from a broad array of disciplines within and outside of psychology proper. The scope of clinical psychology encompasses all ages, multiple diversities, and varied systems. 

The referral to the clinical psychologist can be made:

1.      Through CST’s request (consent needed)

2.      Through Designated Safeguarding Lead / Officer (no consent needed)

3.      Parent’s request (consent needed)

4.    Student’s request (informing the parents after the first session of the student’s request, consent needed)

5.      Psychological emergencies (no consent needed)

1.      CST

CST can request the clinical psychologist to support a student if the case is to be managed within the school. The decision of whether the student needs further support comes from the clinician is based on assessment, observation, and/or clinical interview. The clinician needs to update CST to a level of confidentiality and parents and his findings. Recommendations may be given. If the case is only managed internally by the school’s psychologist, nine (9) sessions is the limit of the sessions that can be delivered. If there is a need to continue due to the student’s request, referrals for external therapists can be provided. The school’s clinician and external therapist must communicate in the student's best interests, and parents will be asked to sign the relevant consent form.

2.      Designated Safeguarding Lead /Officer

Whenever ACS Athens staff members have reasonable cause to believe that a student is suffering or is at significant risk of suffering abuse or neglect, they must report the suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect to appropriate school personnel. The Designated Safeguarding Lead and officer are responsible for the procedures that ACS Athens follows, which may include physical examination and psychological evaluation. In such a case, consent to examine or evaluate the student is not a requirement, and the newly updated local laws will be strictly followed. The liaisons are responsible for reporting the incident to the authorities.  

3.      Parent’s request

Parents can also place a request (via e-mail kougioumzogloue@acs.gr) for their children to book an appointment with the clinical psychologist. At first, the parent(s) will have to book an appointment themselves with the clinician to address the request and to receive the developmental history before seeing the student on condition that the student is willing to receive such services. Parents are guided in addressing their concerns and volition to make this appointment.

 As soon as the first one or two sessions are conducted with the student, the clinician should call the parents for another meeting to explain his findings and recommendations.  If the case is only managed internally by the school’s psychologist, nine (9) sessions is the limit of the sessions that can be delivered. If there is a need to continue due to the student’s request, referrals for external therapists can be provided. The school’s clinician and external therapist must communicate in the student's best interests, and parents will be asked to sign the relevant consent form.

4.      Student’s request

A student at any level can request to see the school’s clinical psychologist. During the first meeting and after having a first clinical impression about the student’s request, the student is informed of the need to have the parents' consent. The distinction between parent consent and confidentiality is to be clear. After comprehensively assessing a student's need(s), a referral for external therapy might be made if the difficulty is more perplexing.

5.      Psychological Emergency

A psychological emergency is an acute disturbance of a student's behavior, thought, or mood, which, if untreated, may lead to harm, either to the individual or to others in the environment. Under the umbrella term “psychological emergency,” you can have both majors, where there is a danger to life either of the student or to others in his/her environment, or minor, where there is no threat to life but causes significant difficulty (Sudarsanan et al., 2004).

Suicide, Parasuicide, Non-Suicidal Self Harm (NNHS): these conditions are major psychological emergencies, and consent won’t be requested before the intervention. Instead, an assessment will be conducted once such a case is reported. If the student is not willing to follow the school’s procedure, parents will be asked to come and pick the student up. During this time, students will not be left without supervision.

As parents, you might be requested to follow very specific recommendations relevant to the outcome of the assessment, such as visiting an external public or private professional. If the case is identified as critical, according to the outcome of the assessment, the student will be back on campus only with a medical note that there is no immediate danger towards himself/herself and others.   

Indicatively, other major and minor psychological emergencies are as follows:

Major emergencies Minor emergencies

Suicidal Ideation Panic attack

NSSI Acute grief reaction

Parasuicide actions Disaster

Psychotic episode Tantrum

Lastly, the school's clinical psychologist can visit classes and observe with or without CST’s request. He can also participate in parent meetings to consult if and when needed. 

Child Safety

ACS Athens is a student-centered international school, embracing American educational philosophy, principles and values. Through excellence in teaching and diverse educational experiences, ACS Athens challenges all students to realize their unique potential academically, intellectually, socially and ethically – to thrive as responsible global citizens.

ACS Athens works diligently to provide a place of belonging, trust and care for all its students. Staff members are committed to educating students and the community about child safety and responsible personal and social behaviors.

Child abuse and neglect are violations of children’s human rights and are obstacles to the child’s education as well as to their physical, emotional and spiritual development. Whenever ACS Athens staff members have reasonable cause to believe that a child is suffering, or is at significant risk of suffering abuse or neglect, they must report the suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect to appropriate school personnel. Authorized personnel, within the parameters of best educational practices, school regulations and local law, will follow up on all referrals.

According to the Greek law, article 23N 3500/2006, any school staff member (teachers, staff, specialists, counselors, nurses) who is informed or confirms in any way that minors are subjected to family violence/abuse is obliged to report it immediately to the respective authorities. 

Those described above who have reported family crimes are not legally involved, disciplined, or dismissed from their jobs or suffer any other consequences for reporting the incident while on the job unless their report is not true. 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are held twice a year when the first and third quarter report cards are issued (see school calendar). At this time, parents can meet with all of their children’s teachers for short meetings.

Parents may request individual teacher conferences at any time throughout the school year by phoning the Academy Main Office 210 6070-222 to set up appointments.

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