Counselor’s Corner
William Whaley – School Counselor
Phone: 863-291-5325
Email: william.whaley@polk-fl.net
Role of the School Counselor
“Elementary school years set the tone for developing the knowledge, attitudes and skill necessary for children to become healthy, competent and confident learners. Through a comprehensive developmental school counseling program, school counselors work as a team with the school staff, parents and the community to create a caring climate and atmosphere. By providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention, school counselors can help all children achieve academic success. The professional elementary school counselor holds a master’s degree and required state certification in school counseling”.
(American School Counselor Association, 2014)
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The mission of the Polk County School Counseling Program is to provide a comprehensive developmental program that meets the academic, career, and personal/social needs of all students. Counselors work on behalf of students, collaborating, advocating, and supporting students, families, and staff to ensure that all students receive a high quality education that prepares them to be become responsible productive citizens that are college and career ready.
Q: What services does the counselor provide for my student?
A: The school counselor provides services for ALL students by implementing a data driven, comprehensive school counseling program that promotes the academic, social/emotional, and college/career development through the following activities:
Classroom Guidance
Through a series of planned classroom learning experiences, counselors deliver meaningful lessons targeting the personal/social, academic, and career development of students. This is a proactive, sequential developmental program that seeks to prevent problems by developing skills in areas such as communication, decision making, and empathy. The guidance program may focus on topics such as:
- Career Awareness
- Student Success Skills
- Conflict Resolution
- Interpersonal Skills
- Bullying Prevention
- Personal Safety
Individual Counseling
Individual counseling is provided on an as-needed basis for students experiencing difficulties with personal, social, and academic concerns. Counseling assists students in identifying problems, potential actions, and possible consequences so that students are empowered to make positive choices. School counseling is intended to be short-term and brief. Community referrals are available for students and families seeking additional support.
Small Group Counseling
Small group counseling provides students an opportunity to work with peers around a specific issue. Referrals for groups may come from students, school staff, and parents. Groups usually meet once a week for several weeks. Parent permission will be requested prior to convening a group. Sample group topics include changing families/divorce, friendship, and anger management.
Consultation
Consultation is a key aspect to addressing the needs of the early adolescent student. As a consultant the school counselor participates as an interdisciplinary team member, provides training for staff and parents on issues relevant to early adolescents, assists at parent conferences, and provides information to teachers about how to meet the needs of students experiencing academic and emotional problems. Counselors confer directly with teachers, parents, administrators and other helping professionals providing for the mutual sharing and analysis of information and ideas to assist in planning and implementing strategies to help students. Consultation may take place in individual or group conferences, during 504 or problem solving teams, through staff development activities, or parent discussion sessions.
Coordination
The school counselor’s role as coordinator involves managing various aspects of indirect services that help students succeed. Counselors serve as a liaison between teachers, parents, support personnel, and community resources to facilitate successful school development. This may include assisting parents in obtaining needed services for their children through a referral and follow-up process. They also serve as liaisons between school and community resources.
School counselors, as coordinators:
- Help identify resources needed by parents, students and teachers
- Provide interpretation of standardized tests results
- Facilitate the distribution of information pertinent to student needs
- Assess students’ needs
- Assist with the oversight of school wide initiatives such as PBIS
Coordination also includes orienting new students to the school and coordinating student transition to the next educational level.
CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION
My Hero is You – How Kids Can Fight COVID-19!
Bring Social Emotional Learning Resources to Your Home at No Cost
The COVID-19 time capsule is created by Long Creations – and gives your child an opportunity to document what we’re going through. They can write about how they are feeling, what’s happening at home and in their communities. It’s something to save and look back on at the role they played in this historic moment.
Snively Elementary at Home!
To make this time as easy as possible for your family, Snively Elementary is pleased to provide our at Home toolkit to ensure that children continue to have high-quality learning experiences outside the classroom. This toolkit provides a variety of lessons, activities, and resources to help you navigate the social and emotional needs of children during this difficult time.
We encourage families to establish Goals and use Meet Up and Buddy Up activities, and we will show you how – including easy instructions and meaningful opportunities for your family to connect, express feelings, and solve problems together.
Family Cyber Safety Toolkit
Parents and caregivers — with your child home from school, they’re likely on some form of digital device more than usual…but did you know? 1 in 5 children who touch a digital device will be sexually solicited online.
Don’t panic — get prepared, with interactive digital safety lessons, tips, and tools from Lauren’s Kids “Safer, Smarter Families” resource library: Grades K-2 Grades 3-5