Philosophy of the Department
The Counseling Department's
mission it is to support students' academic, personal, and
social-emotional growth. Counselors believe that they are the constant
in a student's experience in school. Counselors have the ability to look
at the big picture - across academic disciplines, home and school
responsibilities, social pressures/conflicts, extra curricular interests
and talents, and help students try to make sense of it all. Counselors
help students to integrate all of the aspects of their ever-changing
lives and to begin to develop a sense of:
- who they are
- the direction they would like to take,
- and the knowledge of their own passion and goals.
What Counselors/Psychologists Do:
- Counselors
provide an integrated approach to address students' academic and
social-emotional needs. For example, counselors help student's
transition to the junior high and high school by providing structured
opportunities for them to ask questions and gain support (i.e. meet with
them on orientation day in August and again in small groups during the
first few weeks of school).
- Counselors and psychologists
provide individual and group counseling to students with identified
social-emotional disabilities or concerns as well as to students who
self-refer, or are referred by the Child Study/Student Assistance Team,
by parents, teachers, and administrators. Issues addressed in counseling
include self-esteem, social skill development, depression, anxiety,
post traumatic stress, loss, drug/alcohol use, eating disorders, stress
management, etc.
- Counselors and psychologists provide crisis
intervention to individual students who may be in danger of hurting
themselves, or others, or are in serious emotional distress.
- Counselors
and psychologists support crisis situations in the school setting. For
example, when the school has suffered the loss of a student, counselors
and psychologists work closely with the administration and the building
crisis team. In addition counselors and psychologists work closely with
outside agencies and community organizations to provide support to our
students in school and within the community.
- Counselors engage
in academic advising with students in individual, small group and large
group settings. These services range from presentations and individual
meetings about course selection to individual discussions regarding
workload, elective offerings, extra curricular opportunities, attendance
concerns, and academic difficulty.
- Counselors and psychologists advocate for students with teachers and administrators and help to mediate conflicts.
- Counselors
guide students to begin career exploration activities so that they may
develop an understanding of their personal interests, aptitudes, and
possible career paths. For example, high school counselors run sophomore
group presentations in which every student obtains an account on a web
based College Board program, which allows students to complete a career
interest inventory and search possible career areas.
- Counselors
and psychologists provide regular consultation and communication to the
faculty and the administration regarding student needs and issues.
Counselors and psychologists also communicate and collaborate with
outside agencies and service providers.
- Counselors across both buildings teach classroom lessons on:
- The
department communicates regularly with parents. At the junior high
school, counselors write a monthly column in theShades of Grey, and at
the high school, the department publishes a monthly newsletter, the
Communique, which is sent to every family in the district.
Post-high school planning begins
in earnest during a student's junior year and continues through the
senior year. The department sponsors the following evening programs:
- Spring College Night for junior students and their parents/guardians
- Fall College Night for senior students and their parents/guardians
- Financial Aid Night
- College Athlete Night
- Counselors
meet with juniors in small groups using a post-high school planning
booklet that includes not only two and four year colleges, but
alternatives to college, and work and trade school information. Many
individual meetings follow up these group meetings with students through
the end of the junior year and into the senior year. In the fall of the
senior year counselors meet with their students to talk about the
college application process and the college essay.
The department's focus in the college application process is to:
- assist
students in identifying what they are looking for in a
college/university - what their interests and passions are - and which
college environment meets these areas and is a "good fit."
- assist
students in identifying a wide range of schools by sharing statistics
and trends about how former Acton-Boxborough students fared in the
admissions process over the last few years at each of the schools
(Action Report, available on the High School Counseling web site).
- share with students information that counselors have learned in their dealings with college admissions officers.
- explain
the process of applying to schools. Counselors attempt to alleviate the
stress that students experience by reminding them of the vast number of
colleges and universities available to them. As a department,
counselors acknowledge that the landscape of college admissions
constantly changes, and will continue to do so as more students are
applying to colleges and as the competition increases.
- write a
comprehensive "Counselor Statement" that incorporates input from
parents, teachers and other individuals in an attempt to give a complete
picture of the student.