What do elementary school counselors do?
- Teach classroom counseling lessons
- Facilitate short-term small group counseling
- Provide immediate and short-term individual counseling
- Work collaboratively with teachers and staff
- Consult with parents
- Provide information and/or referrals for community resources to families
Why do we need elementary school counselors?
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A deliberate and comprehensive approach to teaching children social and emotional skills can raise their grades and test scores, increase enthusiasm for learning, reduce behavior problems, and enhance cognitive functioning.
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Students who receive social skills instruction do better academically and socially but the reverse is not true (academic instruction does not increase social/emotional skills).
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There is a strong connection between emotions and learning. Students who can recognize and manage strong emotions are better learners.
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Students who attend schools with a comprehensive school counseling program do significantly better on standardized tests than students who attend schools without a comprehensive counseling program. The longer the students are in schools with comprehensive guidance programs, the more they outperform their peers on standardized tests.
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Prosocial behaviors exhibited by students in the classroom were found to be better predictors of academic achievement than were their standardized test scores.
Here is a short video about what school counselors do:
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