"Counselors touch the lives of our students in many positive and powerful ways daily, and help us build important bridges between the home and school.”

Traci Acers - Midland
Jackie Cardinale - Pomerado, Garden Road
Veronica Flores - Valley
Fran Hjalmarson - Los Penasquitos
Julie Johnson - PIP
Lois Souza - PIP

In order to prepare our students for the future, they need to have basic skills like reading, writing, and math. They also need to have interpersonal skills (know how to get along with others) and communication skills (oral as well as written). Did you know that the most common reason that people lose their jobs is not because they are not smart enough or do not know their jobs well enough. It is because they cannot work on a team and they cannot get along well with others.

We know that early intervention is the key and that is where Elementary Counselors come in. Research shows that the benefits of a comprehensive elementary counseling program include improvement in:

*School attitudes and work habits (which correlate with staying in school)

*Peer relationships and communication skills (which correlate to workplace skills)

*Motivation, behavior and grades (which correlate to learning and achievement)

Overall, the findings demonstrate that schools providing caring, supportive, and challenging environments have great potential to help students and improve academic performance. Districtwide our services include:

*Individual Counseling (K-5) - School-related issues

*Small Group Counseling (K-5) - Topics may include Anger Management, School Success, Friendship and Self-Concept

*Whole Class Lessons (K-5) - Including Second Step (an anti-bullying curriculum) and Steps to Respect (an anti-violence curriculum)

Counselors also consult with parents, staff, Student Study Teams, and others! For further information contact your school site administration.

Just the Facts...

Did you know that PUSD's comprehensive elementary counseling program is based on the ASCA (American School Counseling Association) model of national counseling standards?  The ASCA model focuses on three domains: Social/Emotional, College/Career and Academics. 

These standards are revolutionizing the way counselors do business.  Counselors nationwide are being challenged to meet the needs of all students.  Counselors are able to impact an entire school culture through whole class lessons in the areas of anti-bullying and violence prevention.   

A Little Research...

“Counseling services are a necessity in schools–not an extra that can be cut.  The Institute of Medicine reports that ‘mental health and psychological services are essential to enabling many students to achieve academically, these (services) should be considered mainstream, not optional services” (Schools and Health, 1997).