School counseling services at SJNA are services that are available to all students who are enrolled. Some students will receive services through instruction in class, individual meetings, small groups, and learning opportunities in advisory. The school counselor uses collaboration in order to take a team approach to supporting students.
Communication with families, teachers, resident advisors and resident officers is common in order to provide consistent support and follow up with opportunities as they arise. When assessing students’ learning and skill attainment two primary sets of standards and competencies are used in the comprehensive school counseling program. They are linked below:
Students may meet with the school counselor on an individual basis or in small groups. Students may be referred to the school counselor by their RA, family, teacher, or they may refer themselves. To do this they reach out to the school counselor and set up a time to meet to discuss their needs. Other times, teachers or their counselor may observe a lagging SEL skill that the student may want to work on, or they may be experiencing adversity and be in need of a counselor to speak with. Some reasons students may be invited to speak individually or participate in a social-academic instructional group are listed below:
Social Emotional Learning takes place in small groups as well as Aspiring Leadership, the middle school leadership courses. The focus at the middle school level is to provide opportunities to learn, practice, apply, and reflect on social emotional topics and character development skills. Students learn these skills through the Habitudes curriculum and other supplementary lessons. Students are encouraged to think critically about leadership and other skills that support their social and emotional development.
Is your student looking for some extra support? Struggling with social skills, emotions, or academics? Just someone to talk to? Chat with Mrs. Smith!
Scan the QR code above to schedule a meeting or email asmith@sjnacademies.org. You can also reach her directly by calling 262-646-7224.