What do I do as a School Counselor?

Here’s a list of the things I spend the most time doing on a “normal” day:

• Teach social and emotional skills to whole classes of students—i.e. empathy, conflict resolution, friendship building
• Collaborate with teachers to meet individual student needs (academic, social, or even physical needs)
• Collaborate with parents to address family or school concerns
• Meet with students in small groups (2-5 kids) to build friendships, strengthen community, and/or to work on specific skills needed by the students
• Monitor friendships and peer interactions at lunch and recesses to try and head off minor issues before they become problems
• Meet with students individually to check in, ensuring kids feel safe and giving them tools to be successful

If a student is upset about a specific situation that happened, I will talk with them for anywhere from 2-60 minutes to try to solve the problem. If it’s a small problem, I may even just talk to them in the hallway for a short time. If it turns out to be a symptom of a more long-term problem going on, I will always contact parents to make sure they are aware of it, and we may meet to discuss how we can provide the best supports possible for the students.