School Counseling Services
Our mission is to provide a comprehensive school counseling program that promotes lifelong learning and enhances student success. In our role, school counselors are advocates for students, allies with teachers and liaisons for parents. We collaborate and connect with all parts of a student's daily life because consistency and fluidity are key to a child's growth and success!
The purpose of the school counseling program is to provide all students with the skills that optimize their academic, personal/social and career development. These skills support students in the classroom as well as help them navigate the world, and they are essential to becoming responsible citizens in a global society. In doing this, we recognize the unique and personal worth of each student and we strive to provide equity of access to a supportive safe learning environment for every student. Finally, we value the importance of programming that promotes education, prevention, and intervention with a focus on student success outcomes.
Brief Solution-Focused Therapy
School-based and solution-focused counseling, intervention, and prevention services are offered to all students. This service can be requested by the student, referred by a teacher or based on parent communication and feedback. Topics addressed often include emotional, social, personal and/or academic concerns. The most significant prerequisite for an effective counseling relationship is the building and establishment of a strong rapport between school counselor and student; with this, anything can be accomplished! Often, what follows, is identification of the problem, SMART goal-development, brainstorming, problem-solving, practicing concrete solutions and evaluating their outcomes. Throughout the counseling process, goals can be adjusted, increased or altered. Even so, every session has a distinct purpose to promote self-reflection, practice technique and celebrate growth (one small step at a time!).
Snack Packs
Snack Packs are a fun way for your child to make new friends, learn more about themselves and their classmates, reinforce positive social interactions and practice the skills needed to become a good friend. Most groups range from 4-6 students. We play enjoyable goal-oriented games, engage in self-reflective dialogue and complete fun activities, all with the purpose of promoting good social skills.
Classroom SEL Lessons
Classroom SEL lessons are an effective tier 1 strategy meant to equip students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to
develop healthy identities,
manage emotions and achieve goals,
feel and show empathy for others,
establish and maintain supportive relationships,
and make responsible and caring decisions.
This service is provided to the whole class, although small group and pairing is often incorporated into the curriculum.
School and Home Collaboration
As we all know, a strong partnership between home and school is essential to a child's progress. This is for many reasons, especially because such collaborations demonstrate consistency in expectations, and also, student goals can be more easily made and achieved when the message shared by teachers, support staff and caregivers is identical. To serve as a support for families, I can provide:
Caregiver psycho-education
One-to-one conferences
Academic planning
Community referrals
Additional services include:
504 coordinator
Active member of the I&RS/RTI team
Anti-bullying Specialist
Crisis intervention
System support
For additional information, please email me at conoverv@nvnet.org.
I look forward to building a strong network of compassionate support for your child!