What is a School Counselor? 
A Master's level, certified, trained, and caring professional who works with  students, parents, teachers, staff and the community, in order for every student to achieve academic and social/emotional success. School Counseling services are delivered in four specific ways: 

• Classroom Counseling Curriculum- designing, structuring, and delivering classroom lessons so that students develop specific outcome-driven PK competencies (personal/social, academic, career) with coordination by the needs of the school population.
• Individual Student Planning- assisting students with goal formation/planning, (social emotional growth, academic, etc.)
• Responsive Services- meeting immediate student needs (counseling, crisis intervention, consultation, referral, peer mediation, information-providing)
• System Support- schoolwide program planning and implementation (PBIS, Character ED, etc.), consulting with other professionals, and researching various supports/resources for students and families.

 How does your child experience school counseling services?

• Individual Counseling- Sessions are designed to provide a safe, positive, non judgmental, & confidential setting based on the needs of the student.
• Small Group Counseling- A process where students sharing similar needs work together in a small group environment consisting of about 2-4. The group sessions usually last about 15-20 minutes and are held for approximately 3-4 weeks; students love the FIT club- "Friends In Training".
  
• Classroom Counseling lessons- I develop and implement HS and PK classroom curriculum driven by national, local, and state school counseling guidelines. I often co-plan the lessons within the building to support social and emotional growth across curricular areas.  Whole group lessons are scheduled monthly to address and teach SISD character traits at the child's developmental level. I send home information to parents after each classroom guidance lesson because I believe that a strong home-school partnership is what's best for kids. Wouldn't you agree?

School Counselor Leadership Roles:

• Character Education
• 504 Coordinator
• Crisis Response Team
• Site Base Committee
• At Risk Coordinator
• School Guidance and Counseling
• Attendance Interventionist
• Outreach Resource for Parents
• RtI Support
• PBIS Team Member

P.A.W.S.

The Positive Behavioral Intervention Support program has widespread results in reducing discipline issues. This initiative covers character education and is implemented into monthly guidance lessons by the counselor. You may refer to the student handbook for further explanation of our P.A.W.S. in action.

At Perrin, we recognize that not only do we have the responsibility of teaching every child, but also the responsibility to help every child grow into a productive citizen.  This is why we have incorporated the "bucket philosophy" into our current Character Education. 

The bucket represents your mental and emotional self.  When your bucket is full, you feel more confident, secure, calm, patient, and friendly. When your bucket is empty, you can easily become sad, negative, insecure, nervous, angry, depressed, stressed, worried, and afraid. An empty bucket will actually have an effect on your behavior and cause you to express your emotions in a way that empties the buckets of those around you.

So, what is bucket filling? Well, it's actions or words that show that you care about someone. Saying or doing something kind. Giving someone a heartfelt smile. Helping without being asked. Giving sincere compliments. Showing respect to others. Being responsible and showing honesty. There are hundreds of wonderful ways to fill buckets!

We want all students, staff members, and parents to be bucket fillers.

Kindness counts, and bucket filling's cool-- that's what we expect at Perrin Early Childhood School!