Counseling Department and Psychological Services

[ Elementary Level | Grades 7-12 ABRHS Counseling Website]

Elementary Level

Philosophy and Goals

Each school in Acton recognizes that children grow and develop at different rates and in different ways. To a greater or lesser extent, children may require assistance and support in adjusting to particular stages of personal, social or cognitive development.

Within each school, the counselor works cooperatively with parents, teachers, administrators and other specialists to provide needed support for students. Our shared goal is to insure a successful school experience for students, one in which they develop a positive sense of self, the skills to interact productively and the maturity to make wise decisions. Through this cooperative effort, we hope that students will be able to utilize their potential in constructive, responsible and satisfying ways.

Counselors

Each of the elementary school counselors has at least a Master's Degree in School Counseling and additional training and experience in the field. Please feel free to call us at your child's school.

Diane O'Hare Douglas School
Amy Perri Gates School
Debbie Dawson Conant School
Tina Morgan McCarthy-Towne School
Ginny Conway Merriam School & Chair of Elementary Counseling & Psychological Services

The Role of the Elementary School Counselor

Direct support to children in the school setting may involve individual and/or group counseling on a weekly, short-term or crisis intervention basis Referrals for counseling services are made by parents, teachers and, sometimes, students themselves. Ongoing counseling requires parental knowledge and permission, whereas a counselor may see a child on a crisis intervention basis without the prior consent of the parents. Issues for counseling cover a broad range. Counseling may encourage age-appropriate social development, help children develop academic confidence or promote understanding of personal/emotional issues.

Just as issues and objectives for counseling vary, so do the methods used to attain those goals. While some sessions might be oriented toward discussion or problem solving, still others might utilize group games and activities, role playing or play therapy techniques. Regardless of the objectives or techniques involved, the counselor creates an atmosphere which focuses on the strengths of individual students. We feel that growth and change are achieved through empowering children, helping them to draw from their strengths in order to realize their potential.

Consultation with parents, teachers, specialists and administrators is valuable in assessing a student's needs and planning an appropriate course of action. Each counselor consults regularly with staff in his/her building to coordinate services provided to students. In addition to regularly scheduled planning meetings, the counselor consults with parents, teachers and administrators on an "as needed" basis. When appropriate, the counselors may observe children in the school setting to provide information to teachers and/or parents regarding the child's school behavior and attitude.

Similarly, the counselors are available to serve as a resource to teachers by providing ideas for developmental classroom units, activities or discussions in the area of affective development. Some activities may serve as part of the regular classroom curriculum which help children to build self-esteem, problem solving skills , friendships, and social/emotional skills. Others may be developed in response to a particular need or situation in a particular classroom group.

Parents are encouraged to discuss concerns with the counselor in order to gain perspective concerning behaviors and developmental issues. The counselor has extensive experience with the therapeutic community in and around Acton and maintains a list of resources outside of the school setting for families to utilize, if they so choose.

The Role of the School Psychologist

Each elementary school has a part-time School Psychologist who serves on the Special Education Team to identify students with social/emotional and learning needs who are eligible for Individualized Educational Plans. They are available for teacher consultation and crisis intervention.

School Psychologists

Nancy Ferraro Douglas, Conant, & Gates Schools
Rachel Kalinsky McCarthy-Towne & Merriam Schools

Grades 7-12

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:

Personnel for 2006-2007 School Year

The junior high school department is comprised of 3 full time counselors and 1.3 school psychologists. The high school department is comprised of 9.3 counselors and 2 full time school psychologists.

What Do Counselors/Psychologists Do?

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Counselors and psychologists advocate for students with teachers and administrators and help to mediate conflicts.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Counselors across both buildings teach classroom lessons on:
    • Respect
    • Bullying/Teasing
    • Sexual Harassment

The department communicates regularly with parents. At the junior high school, counselors write a monthly column in the Shades of Grey, and at the high school, the department publishes a monthly newsletter, the Communiqué, 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:

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.

College Application

The department's focus in the college application process is to:

  1. 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."
  2. 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).
  3. Share with students information that counselors have learned in their dealings with college admissions officers.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Special Programs/Initiatives

Counselors are very much "generalists." Many counselors came to Acton-Boxborough because we are a "counseling department" and because we value the connection we are able to make with youngsters across all areas of their lives.

The negative aspect of this approach is that counselors and psychologists are stretched to meet the varying needs of all students, and are up against the pressure of college admissions and the diminishing community mental health services for students.

With long wait lists for area therapists, insurance cut backs, and shorter psychiatric hospitalization stays, students are more in need of support within the walls of the school building.

Despite the challenges, we believe in our assertion that we are most effective if we look at the whole student and address, to the best of our ability, a student's growth and development as an adolescent across academic, social, and emotional areas. In this way we are doing best by our students.