What does a an elementary school counselor do?
I wear many hats here at Hyer. Here is just a brief overview of some of my job responsibilities.
Why do we need elementary school counselors?
Here is a short video about what school counselors do:
I wear many hats here at Hyer. Here is just a brief overview of some of my job responsibilities.
- Teach classroom guidance lessons
- Facilitate short-term small group counseling
- Provide immediate and short-term individual counseling
- Work collaboratively with teachers and staff
- Consult with parents
- Provide information and/or referrals for community resources to families
Why do we need elementary school counselors?
- A deliberate and comprehensive approach to teaching children social and emotional skills can raise their grades and test scores, increase enthusiasm for learning, reduce behavior problems, and enhance cognitive functioning.
- Students who receive social skills instruction do better academically and socially but the reverse is not true (academic instruction does not increase social/emotional skills).
- There is a strong connection between emotions and learning. Students who can recognize and manage strong emotions are better learners.
- A comprehensive guidance program creates a safe environment for learning. The longer the students are in schools with comprehensive guidance programs, the more they outperform their peers on standardized tests.
- Pro-social behaviors exhibited by students in the classroom were found to be better predictors of academic achievement than were their standardized test scores.
Here is a short video about what school counselors do: