firebirds fly together

What's new

Welcome Back Firebird Families!

Welcome Firebird families! We are your school counseling department, here to support you and your student(s) with your arrival whether you've been with us for years, or brand new! We understand that while returning (or starting) school can be a source of both excitement and nervousness. Tips for acclimating new kindergarteners may be found on the left! Engaging in intentional, positive talk to help your child associate school with making friends and learning new things, can help them create positive feelings about school.

For older students, put together a list of positive self-statements. These can be “I can do this, there are people there to support me,” or “I’ve tried new things before and it went OK.” These realistic coping statements can be helpful for kids to have on a list in their pocket so they can look at that on the first day of school if they’re feeling nervous.

And if you need any further support transitioning your child to school, contact your school counselor!

988 is Now Live

988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:

Thoughts of suicide
Mental health or substance use crisis, or
Any other kind of emotion distress

People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help.

More about 988

General Information from your

student services department

2025-2026

Title IX

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces, among other statutes, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Falls Lake Academy does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the employment, education programs, or activities it operates. All Title IX reports should be made to our Title IX coordinator, Alex Mosley, at Alexmosley@fallslakeacademy.com.

McKinney-Vento Act

The McKinney-Vento Act (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.) is a federal law ensuring the children and youth experiencing homelessness and the educational struggles brought about by homelessness. Children and youth experiencing homelessness are entitled to enroll, stay in, be transported to, and succeed in public school. ACS is committed to our students and families experiencing homelessness and removing their barriers and obstacles to enrollment.

Please visit our school website for more information!

Why School Counselors and not Guidance counselors?

School counselors are highly trained and support students in many ways in addition to guiding them to college
The role itself has evolved from a focus on post-graduation planning and administrative support to today’s focus on embracing a comprehensive approach to optimize student outcomes in much more than just college planning
Focus areas include emotional support, family intervention, social development, academic guidance, and career planning
School counselors are now a strong, collaborative member of an educational team

Social emotional learning

What is SEL?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Elementary School Curriculum

Second Step

The Second Step Elementary digital program is a web-based social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that allows for consistency from classroom to classroom and easily scales across schools and districts. Its digital format enables continuous improvement based on up-to-date research and feedback. In grades K-5, Second Step is taught through our specials teachers on Fridays.

The Second Step Elementary digital program is designed to adapt to students’ needs:

In counselor-facilitated group settings, students connect with the content, each other, and the counselor as they build new social-emotional skills
Variety in media, activities, and interactive components helps engage every learner and provide opportunities for culturally relevant teaching
The look and feel of each grade’s lessons evolve as students grow into new developmental stages

Middle School Curriculum

Second Step

SEL curriculum-Second Step for Middle School
CASEL-aligned
Goal is to empower students with skills for life-holistic approach
Web-based
Topics: mindsets and goals, recognizing bullying and harassment, thoughts, emotions, and decisions, and managing relationships and social conflicts.

High School

Please visit Mrs. Jackson's website for our most up-to-date information.

Child safety education- Elementary

Online Safety

NetSmartz is NCMEC's online safety education program. It provides age-appropriate videos and activities to help teach children be safer online with the goal of helping children to become more aware of potential online risks and empowering them to help prevent victimization by making safer choices on- and offline.

NetSmartz Home

Personal Safety

KidSmartz is a child safety program that educates families about preventing abduction and empowers kids in grades K-5 to practice safer behaviors. This program offers resources to help parents, caregivers, and teachers protect kids by teaching and practicing the 4 Rules of Personal Safety using classroom lessons, at-home lessons, parent tips, and fun printable activities.

KidSmartzKidSmartz is an abduction prevention and child safety program from NCMEC, based on actual attempted abduction data.

Gun Safety

Gun violence is preventable—and we all have a role to play. Let’s have conversations, find common ground, and work together to make our homes and communities safer for children and teens.

Agree To Agree | Youth Gun Injuries PreventionWe all have a role in reducing gun injuries. Let's find common ground and work together to make a real impact. Join the conversation at agreetoagree.org

College & Career planning

Elementary School

Click here to check out Paws in Jobland on CFNC.org!

Middle School

6th Grade- How Did They Get There?

7th Grade- Time Management

8th Grade- Your Learning Style

High School

Students and parents are encouraged to explore the redesigned CFNC.org website. This is a one stop shop for students and parents to plan for college, apply to colleges, explore careers and sort through resources to pay for college in the state of NC. Planning starts even before high school. Students with CFNC accounts are encouraged to login and click around! Students without CFNC accounts are encouraged to create an account! Go ahead! Explore!

Click here for up-to-date information that colleges, universities, College Board (SAT) and ACT are releasing about COVID-19 and college admissions.

Career Assessments

This is a great time to start exploring career options. Use this link to explore resources that will help you find out things that interest you as well as possible careers that match your profile.

Virtual College Visits

Click here for updated information about virtual college representative visits to FLA. Use this link to join zoom meetings when applicable!

Resume Writing for High School Students: 101

Students often use resumes to apply to summer programs, college, internships, jobs and sometimes recommenders will request it when writing a recommendation for these programs. It is good practice to have a draft ready to go for these activities. It is also recommended to update your resume at least once a year.

Watch this video to gain a brief understanding of what a highs school student resume may consist of: How to write resume

Use this link for example resume templates and a more detailed explanation of a high school students’ resume.

***Reach out to Mrs. Jackson for more assistance.

Summer Programs & Other Opportunities

Use this link throughout the year to explore programs that may be of interest to your student. These are great resume builders and wonderful opportunities to gain experience in areas you may be interested in the future.

This can also be found on Mrs. Jackson’s website under “Career Planning Resources”.

ParentEducator Resource Guide to Section 504.pdf

Section 504

The purpose of Section 504 is to provide students with a qualifying mental or physical disability equal access to his or her educational environment, materials, or program. Meaning accommodations are related to how the disability (or suspected disability) is currently impacting the student at school. It is important that a 504 never guarantees better grades, rather it provides a "level playing field" for an equal chance at success.

#Howtodeal

In this section, we will be including tips or tricks for you on how to incorporate self-care or social-emotional learning into your daily routine! We understand that during our time away from school, it may be a challenge to take care of YOU. So, here you will find some ideas to stay active, healthy, and mentally strong as we cope with this pandemic. Enjoy!

CASEL CARES is an initiative that connects our community with experts to address how SEL can be most helpful in response to today’s circumstances.

Dr. Deborah Rivas-Drake and Dr. Bloodine Barthelus engage in a heart-to-heart conversation around the pain and struggle of being a parent, particularly at this time, and the work that is required of us to mitigate racism starting at home.

Learn more: https://casel.org/weekly-webinars/