Our School Counseling program at Towne Acres supports instruction in the regular classroom in several ways. The first way is by providing individual counseling to students. Often students come to school concerned about a situation at home, a problem at school or a conflict with a peer to name a few. In many cases, these issues, both big and small, can remove the student’s focus from classroom instruction negatively impacting their learning and often the learning experience of their classmates. School-based individual counseling can help equip the student with specific pro-social strategies for coping with these issues resulting in more focused learners. Individual counseling can also assist students who are uncertain about classroom expectations or those who may display challenging behaviors by working with the student, teacher and family to provide personalized interventions to help the student succeed.
Classroom guidance lessons are another way the school counselor supports instruction in the regular classroom. Classroom guidance lessons provide a proactive approach to help students meet both personal and academic challenges in an effort to remove certain barriers to learning. Our Tennessee state standards for School Counseling and Career Guidance are broken into three domains: academic development, career development and personal/social development. The standards within the academic domain are designed to support and maximize learning. The book: 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey has provided a common language used throughout our school to reinforce positive, goal-oriented academic behaviors. The standards within the personal/social development domain contribute to the students’ academic success by providing a foundation for personal and social growth reinforcing many often undefined behavioral expectations in the classroom and providing students with skills needed to work in partnership with others reducing potential classroom disruptions. The standards within the Career Development domain are designed to help students acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will promote a successful transition to the next step in their education and eventually their career.
A third way the school counselor supports the classroom teacher is by assisting in the development of educational plans for students. One way the school counselor assists the teacher in this way is by facilitating the SST process to provide testing for students who may qualify for special education services. The school counselor also facilitates 504 meetings with the student’s family and school personnel to identify short or long term modifications and accommodations for students with specific disabilities to be able to access and participate in classroom/school activities.
Additionally, the school counselor supports classroom instruction through professional consultation with teachers, families and others involved with our students. The school counselor shares ideas, provides resources and helps create plans to promote student success. The school counselor also assists families in accessing community resources as necessary to help meet the needs of the child and their family such as Second Harvest Food Bank, America Reads Program, Girls Inc., Frontier Health, Salvation Army and many others.
Classroom guidance lessons are another way the school counselor supports instruction in the regular classroom. Classroom guidance lessons provide a proactive approach to help students meet both personal and academic challenges in an effort to remove certain barriers to learning. Our Tennessee state standards for School Counseling and Career Guidance are broken into three domains: academic development, career development and personal/social development. The standards within the academic domain are designed to support and maximize learning. The book: 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey has provided a common language used throughout our school to reinforce positive, goal-oriented academic behaviors. The standards within the personal/social development domain contribute to the students’ academic success by providing a foundation for personal and social growth reinforcing many often undefined behavioral expectations in the classroom and providing students with skills needed to work in partnership with others reducing potential classroom disruptions. The standards within the Career Development domain are designed to help students acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will promote a successful transition to the next step in their education and eventually their career.
A third way the school counselor supports the classroom teacher is by assisting in the development of educational plans for students. One way the school counselor assists the teacher in this way is by facilitating the SST process to provide testing for students who may qualify for special education services. The school counselor also facilitates 504 meetings with the student’s family and school personnel to identify short or long term modifications and accommodations for students with specific disabilities to be able to access and participate in classroom/school activities.
Additionally, the school counselor supports classroom instruction through professional consultation with teachers, families and others involved with our students. The school counselor shares ideas, provides resources and helps create plans to promote student success. The school counselor also assists families in accessing community resources as necessary to help meet the needs of the child and their family such as Second Harvest Food Bank, America Reads Program, Girls Inc., Frontier Health, Salvation Army and many others.