Section III

The SISD Counseling and Guidance department offers a comprehensive, developmental program that addresses the academic, career, and social/emotional needs of all students through guidance curriculum, responsive services, individual planning, and system support.  By advocacy, leadership, and collaboration, SISD certified school counselors assist and encourage students to maximize their capabilities and academic achievement.  In partnership with our stakeholders, Sharyland ISD counselors empower all students to be prepared for the future and have access to the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize their potential and reach their own self-actualization.  

The Sharyland Independent School District Counseling Department will support and advance the social and emotional health, as well as the college and career development of all students through the delivery of a comprehensive guidance program. Students will receive supports through individual and group counseling, guidance curriculum, along with referral services provided through a variety of community partnerships. 

The Sharyland ISD Counseling Department promotes social/emotional and academic development to support, empower, and shape positive, assertive students. The counseling program addresses competencies such as health and safety, Intra/Interpersonal effectiveness, along with college and career planning. Sharyland ISD counselors will accomplish these goals through student, staff, and parent needs assessments to inform the campus comprehensive guidance program on how to best meet the needs of the school community. The professional school counselor utilizes individual and group counseling, guidance lessons, district resources, advocacy, and consultation to meet the unique and diverse needs of all students. 

We Believe:

• All students have diverse strengths, needs, and abilities that contribute to their academic, personal, social, career and community goals.

• Every student has a right to receive school counseling services which are an integral part of all students' education.

• Counseling programs contribute to a strong and healthy community of productive citizens.

• A student's basic needs must be met for optimal learning.

• School counselors are partners in education with students, teachers, parents and community members.

• School counseling programs should be aligned with best practices of national standards including ethics, confidentiality and data driven program development.

• The presence of a Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program positively impacts the school climate.

• Our programs are designed to meet the developmental needs of each and every student.

• School counselors are committed to ongoing professional development.

The B.L. Gray counseling program goals are driven by the needs of the student population.  Multiple sources of data are reviewed, analyzed and discussed to determine the success of our program. Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Basic needs as our guideline, we begin by assessing deficiencies in basic areas by consulting with staff such as the district social worker, community liaision, school nurse, cafeteria manager and any other stakeholder who may have knowledge of specific needs. We then examine the needs assessment results, the amount of responsive services provided, observations by counselors and staff and look for noticeable trends. Additional data sources include assessments, discipline reports, attendance reports, failure reports, academic plans, and promotion rates. The combined results of the aforementioned items are cross-referenced with our SMART goals and our current program design to evaluate the effectiveness of our program.