- Cashell Donahoe Elementary School
- Sandston Elementary School
- Brookland Middle School
- John Rolfe Middle School
- Douglas S. Freeman High School
School Counseling Services
School Counseling Programs
HCPS school counselors hold a master’s degree or higher in counseling and a license in school counseling (pre-K through 12) from the Virginia Department of Education. They are uniquely trained as school-based mental health providers to deliver school counseling programs and services to support the academic achievement, social and emotional development, and college- and career-readiness of every student. In addition, school counselors provide mental health awareness, early identification and short-term intervention, as well as crisis and referral services to students and their families.
HCPS’ school counseling program is an essential part of the school division’s total educational program. The primary role of an HCPS school counselor is to deliver key services to students, such as:
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(Whole-group counseling and activities)
- Provide regularly scheduled data-informed lessons and activities to provide all students with the knowledge, attitudes and skills appropriate for their developmental level. School counseling curriculum topics are preventative, psychoeducational and driven by student need.
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- Assist students in the exploration of their abilities, interests, skills and achievements, as well as their ability to make decisions and develop immediate and long-range goals and plans.
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(Individual counseling, small-group counseling and crisis counseling)
- Provide brief, developmentally appropriate, goal-focused counseling sessions to individual students that address issues related to:
- Mental health and wellness.
- Social and emotional development.
- Achievement.
- College- and career-readiness.
- Provide ongoing small-group counseling sessions to students with similar developmental or situational challenges with the goal of improving achievement, attendance, mental health and wellness, and behavioral outcomes.
- Provide counseling to help individual students navigate critical emergency or crisis situations.
- Provide brief, developmentally appropriate, goal-focused counseling sessions to individual students that address issues related to:
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- Provide information, insight and recommendations to individuals or teams who can support a student’s needs, or seek information from an expert about a student’s needs.
- Work with parents, teachers, administrators, school staff members and community stakeholders to:
- Promote achievement for a specific student.
- Promote systemic change to address the needs of groups of students, such as underachieving or underrepresented groups of students in the school.
- Refer students to outside providers and resources as necessary.
School Counselors
School Counselors are specifically trained to provide counseling services in the educational setting. They have a minimum of a master’s degree in counseling, which exceeds the educational requirement of Qualified Mental Health Professionals (QMHP), and are trained to deliver all services through a comprehensive school counseling program that meets the needs of all students.
ASCA National Model
School Counselors design and deliver school counseling programs that improve student outcomes. The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs outlines the components of a school counseling program that is integral to the school's academic mission and is created to have a significant positive impact on student achievement, attendance and discipline.
The ASCA National model guides school counselors in the development of school counseling programs that:
- are based on data-informed decision making.
- are delivered to all students systemically.
- includes a developmentally appropriate curriculum focused on the mindsets and behaviors all students need for postsecondary readiness and success
- close achievement and opportunity gaps
- results in improved student achievement, attendance and discipline
ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors
The ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success describe the knowledge, attitudes, and skills students need to achieve academic success, college and career readiness and social/emotional development. The standards are based on a survey of research and best practices in student achievement from a wide array of educational standards and efforts. HCPS School Counselors identify the mindsets and behaviors that best align with their goals and learning objectives from their classroom lessons, small groups and more!
College and Career Planning
School Counselor’s Role on Career Development
- Providing and advocating for individual pre-K through postsecondary students’ college and career awareness through exploration and postsecondary planning and decision making, which supports students’ right to choose from the wide array of options after completing secondary education
- Providing lessons and experiential opportunities for students to
- Be introduced to careers and the world of work in lower elementary grades
- Engage in the “life roles including learner and worker”
- Acquire behaviors and skills for career readiness
- Identify their interests, abilities, specific career clusters and post-secondary plans (ACPP and ACP)
- Establish the transition from school to postsecondary education and/or the world of work
- Advising students on multiple postsecondary pathways (e.g., college, career-specific credentials and certifications, apprenticeships, military, service-year programs, full-time employment with a family-supporting wage) and connecting students to early college programs
- Working with teachers to integrate career education learning in the curricula
- Providing opportunities for all students to develop the mindsets and behaviors necessary to learn work-related skills, resilience, perseverance, an understanding of lifelong learning as a part of long-term career success, a positive attitude toward learning and a strong work ethic.
Academic Planning
School Counselor’s Role on Academic Planning
- Delivers a school counseling program based on data identifying student needs which includes administration, teachers and other school staff to create a school environment that encourages academic success and striving to one's potential by presenting a curriculum on best practices in mindsets and behaviors.
- Providing relevance to academic effort and educational pursuits by assisting in students’ career planning and future career-related goals
- Working to remove barriers to access and provide students with the opportunity for academic challenge in the most rigorous coursework possible
- Establishing data analysis methods to identify and target systemic barriers deterring equitable access
