Referrals
Ways to refer
A child may refer themselves.
A teacher may refer a student.
A parent may refer his/her child.
A staff person on campus can refer a student.
For a parent/counselor meeting
Call the school counselor to set up an appointment
Send a note or an email to the counselor requesting contact
Reasons for a referral
You have concerns with your child's attitude toward school.
You have concerns with your child's academic growth.
You have concerns with your child's relationships with peers at school.
You have concerns with your child's personal development.
You have concerns with your child's reactions to changes within the family that may be effecting his/her learning at school.
Why should it be done?
Provides students with more one on one help, support, and intervention
Increases specificity of interventions and supports and tailors them to the student
Increases privacy for the student
Removes the student from the situation or circumstance to discuss solutions to it
Reduces anxiety and pressure on student
Provides the student with the full attention of an adult
Makes student feel secure
Allows an adult to give a student undivided attention
Frees the teacher up to continue teaching the rest of the class without having to stop to speak or counsel a student in the hall or away from the class
When should it be done?
When students are over emotional and cannot calm down in an appropriate and brief amount of time
When a student’s needs are greater than those the teacher can provide in the classroom setting
When a student requires more support and attention to address or solve a problem, issues, etc
When students need more specific and individualized help, solutions, and plans to address issues
When a student needs more privacy than a teacher can provide in the classroom
How should it be done?
Counselor referrals may be planned or spontaneous
For planned referrals, have the student set up a day or days and times to meet with the counselor ahead of time and provide the student with reminders
For spontaneous referrals where an incident happens and the student unexpectedly requires counselor support, send the student down to the counselor with a note briefly explaining what happened, or send the student down and call and explain to the counselor the issue.
You may walk the student down or send another student to walk down with the student to the counselor
The counselor may also come to the room to retrieve the student