Counselor's Corner
For specifics about the Triangle Day School Counseling Program, click HERE.
Comprehensive Counseling Program
Purpose:
The purpose of a comprehensive school counseling program in a school setting is to promote and enhance the learning process for each and every student. The primary goal of the program is to enable all students to achieve success in school and to develop into contributing members of our society. School counseling programs that are comprehensive and proactive are often much more successful. A comprehensive school counseling program includes a counseling curriculum which is the shared responsibility of teachers, counselors, parents, and community members. It includes opportunities for whole class instruction, individual and small group counseling, responsive services, and system support by a licensed school counselor.
Based on the recommendations of the American School Counseling Association and the Nation Standards for School Counseling Programs and adapted from The North Carolina Standard Course of Study, the Triangle Day School Comprehensive Counseling Program is evolving and will remain a “work in progress”.
Philosophy:
School Counseling is an educational program in and of itself delivered by the Counselor & teachers and supported by the parents and school community. It has a specialized curriculum that leads students to effectively take charge of their lives and to plan for their futures.
GOALS for all students:
*Demonstrate a positive attitude toward self as a unique and worthy person.
*Gain life-planning skills that are consistent with needs, interests, and abilities.
*Develop responsible social skills and an understanding and appreciation of being a contributing member of society.
*Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the life-long process of learning, growing and changing.
The Counselor’s Role:
School counselors coordinate a school-wide program for all students by organizing around four primary program components and six role functions. Counselors have expertise in all areas, but it is the counseling function (Responsive Services component) for which the school counselors have received special training and licensure. All other parts of a school counseling program require ownership and collaboration among the entire school staff. The student-centered program provides appropriate instruction and assistance at each grade as well as individual and group counseling opportunities for students. The counselor provides leadership to help teachers integrate the standards across the curriculum.
Program Components:
*Curriculum. Based on national developmental standards, competencies related to academic, career, and personal/social development are delivered or taught in collaboration with teachers through classroom lessons and school-wide projects.
*Individual Planning. The counselor is available to meet individually with students to analyze how their interests, abilities, and achievements interface with educational planning, academic achievement and career information.
*Responsive Services. This component includes confidential individual and small group counseling based on consultation with teachers, parents, and agencies that can assist students and families.
*System Support. This includes program coordination and outreach activities to promote partnerships within the community that support the development of students.
Counselor Functions:
*Program Planning
*Counseling (groups & individuals)
*Consulting
*Coordinating
*Student Appraisal and Assessment
*Professional Development
Counseling Curriculum:
Academic Development
~Acquiring skills, attitudes, and knowledge to learn effectively
~Employing strategies to achieve success in school
~Understanding the relationship of academics to the world of work, and to life at home and in the community.
Career Development
~Strategies to achieve future career success and job satisfaction
~Fostering an understanding of the relationship between personal qualities, education and training, and the world of work
~The development of career goals by all students as a result of career awareness and experiential activities
Personal/Social Development
~The acquisition of skills, attitudes, and knowledge which help students to respect self and others
~The use of effective interpersonal skills
~The employment of safety and survival skills
~The understanding of the obligation to be a contributing member of society
~The ability to negotiate successfully and safely in the increasingly complex and diverse world of the 21st century
