School counselors are professionally trained to assist students with educational, social, and emotional needs. The counseling program in Stafford County is developmental and preventive.

The role of the elementary school counselor :

Classroom guidance lessons center around the Stafford County Character Education words of the month. All classes K-5 receive classroom lessons once every three weeks. The lessons are proactively designed to present needed skills and strategies to help children meet the challenges of their current developmental stage. Kindergarten students practice sharing adult attention, interacting with peers, develop listening skills and simple problem solving using kind words and actions. First graders practice problem solving, showing pride in work, acceptance of mistakes as part of learning, and listening skills. Second graders develop a vocabulary of words to help describe feelings, practice working with others cooperatively, begin to develop organizational skills, and work on becoming more independent learners and social problem solvers. Third graders learn more about organizing school materials, test taking, continue learning to effectively solve social problems. Fourth graders practice the steps to good decision making, learn the concepts of good time management, continue to work on social problem solving skills, and test-taking strategies. Fifth graders continue to work on organizational skills, decision making, test-taking strategies, and preparation for the transition to middle school.

Group counseling is available for students experiencing similar concerns. Groups are organized according to need, including teacher and parent requests. Children must have parent permission to participate in a counseling group. Groups are held during the school day and run about 6 weeks in length for 20-30 minutes. Every effort is made to coordinate group meetings outside major instructional time. Group topics include organizational strategies, friendship skill building, new students, problem solving skill building, confidence building, family changes, and anger management. 

Individual counseling is available to students upon request of the parent, teacher, or self-referral by the student. Students who may require several meetings must have parent permission. Serious concerns are referred to appropriate outside resources. Typical student issues include friendship and classmate difficulties, classroom behavior, and family changes.

Your school counselors are available for consultation with teachers, parents, administrators and outside professionals (with proper permission for release of information). The goal of consultation is to unite home, school, and child  with a common purpose of working together to help the student meet success.

 Please contact Mrs.Glaeser or Mrs. Johnson with any concerns or questions.

Glaeserls@staffordschools.net