Cardinal Counseling Program

The School Counselor’s Role

School counselors design and deliver school counseling programs that improve student outcomes. They lead, advocate and collaborate to promote equity and access for all students by connecting their school counseling program to the school’s academic mission and school action plan. They uphold the ethical and professional standards of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and promote the development of the school counseling program based on the following areas of the ASCA National Model: define, deliver, manage and assess.

The Essential Role of Elementary School Counselors

Social Emotional Learning Classroom Lessons (taught biweekly)

Lessons are developmentally appropriate for ALL students in grades K-5. Classroom lessons help promote the Cardinal moto CHIRP (cooperation, honesty, including others, respect, & perseverance).  Cardinal uses the Second Step and Everyday Speech Curricula to teach Virginia counseling standards.  Classroom lessons often include books, videos, music, or special projects to engage students.

The lessons cover:

• Developing Empathy
• Emotion management
• Communication skills
• Problem solving skills
• Bully prevention and intervention (schoolwide unit in combination with Physical Ed Classes)
• Child safety & sexual abuse prevention
• Career exploration
• Mental health awareness
• Transition to middle school (5th grade only)
• Substance abuse prevention (4th & 5th grade only)

*Virginia Guidance SEL Standards : In accordance with HB 753, passed during the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) established a uniform definition of social-emotional learning and developed for all public students in grades Kindergarten through 12 in the Commonwealth.

VA SEL Guidance Standards

American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Professional Standards and Competencies

To learn more about the benefits of social emotional learning in schools, check out this website from CASEL a leader in SEL practice.

https://casel.org/impact/

Individual Counseling Support

Short term, solution focused counseling to help students better understand themselves, have positive interpersonal relationships, and resolve problems that might interfere with learning.  Individual counseling maybe initiated by parents, students, teachers or school counselors and lasts no more than 6-8 sessions.  Parent/guardian permission is required for individual counseling.

Small Group Counseling Support

Students with similar concerns meet and practice skills in communicating, problem solving, and interacting with others.  Common group topics include: friendship/social skills, emotion management, and coping with life changes, such as family sickness, divorce or grief/loss.  Groups typically last 6-8 sessions.  Parent/guardian permission is required for group counseling.

*The Cardinal  School Counseling Program has been recognized as an American School Counselor Association (ASCA)  Model Program 2021