School Counselor

Natalie Foster

nfoster@athensisd.net

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year.

We are excited for you to be a part of the Hornet Nation.

Whether or not your child is new to Athens Middle school or a returning student, we look forward to working with you and your child. We would like to take a moment to share the Athens Middle school counseling program with you. We will provide classroom lessons, small group counseling, short-term individual counseling, and assistance with academic needs. 

Classroom lessons are designed to teach and reinforce social and emotional skills. Each month a classroom lesson will be presented based on our monthly focus. During the lesson, students may hear a story, play a game, or participate in other activities that reinforce the skill. Some examples of skills that may be taught during classroom lessons include goal setting, self-motivation, identifying emotions, perspective taking, empathy, respect for others and solving problems.

Some children may participate in small-group counseling. Groups will meet weekly or bi-weekly for 30 minutes for up to eight weeks. Topics for each group will be chosen based on data from the needs assessment as well as observable trends on campus.

Students are also able to visit the counselor individually. Students can request an appointment at any time. Parents and staff members can also refer a child for individual or group counseling. If students will be seeing the counselor on a regularly scheduled basis, they must have a signed permission slip. We do not provide therapy at school, but we can provide you with information about community resources.

Finally, we want to make you aware of our confidential online reporting form. You can access it below, or by clicking on the Confidential Reporting tab at the top of the page.

Thank you,

AMS Counseling Department