5 Ways School Counselors Can Get Back to School Ready!
Back to school season is here and I love the excitement it brings! But it can also feel a little overwhelming at times. Check out these resources to get you back to school ready!
Go from Stressed to Obsessed with Classroom Counseling Lessons
Classroom counseling lessons are a tier 1 intervention for all students aka they're kind of a big deal! Prioritizing your lessons at the beginning of the year is a must-do, but I know it can be overwhelming.
I wanted to feel more confident and prepared so I started figuring out the process (location, set up, frequency) and getting teacher buy-in.
I wanted to stop last minute lesson planning so I started planning engaging lessons and repurposing content.
I wanted to feel like I was making a difference so I started collecting data to measure the effectiveness of my lessons.
I wanted to feel competent and valued by my colleagues so I started writing scripts and managing behaviors.
Never want to plan a class lesson again? You'll love this class lessons bundle
What to do during your first 30 days as a school counselor
One way you can prep for a successful school year is with a 30,60,90 day plan! Get your first 30 days off to a great start with these tasks!
Conduct a needs assessment
Meet with your admin (and possibly former counselor)
Introduce yourself using a Meet the Counselor Game
Attend or host a Back to School Night
Establish a referral process
Map out classroom counseling lessons
Decorate your office
Use a Meet the Counselor lesson to engage students and advocate for your role
Teaching a Meet the Counselor lesson is a great way to kickstart the school year!
Teaching a Meet the Counselor Lesson Achieves a Few Things:
You get to introduce yourself to students
You clarify your role and how students can access your services (clarifying what you do and do not do is a great way to advocate!)
You get to model what future class lessons will look like.
Now let's take a fun quiz! Which Meet the Counselor lesson is right for you?
Question 1: What best describes you as a counselor?
A: I'm always "on-the-go"!
B: I have great classroom management skills!
C: I get bored easily and love that every day is different.
Question 2: What kind of planner are you?
A: I love to plan lessons that I can easily edit and repurpose.
B: I love to print and prep.
C: It depends on the day!
Question 3: What do you want for your lessons this year?
A: All things digital!
B: I'm looking to spice up my usual lessons.
C: I want a little bit of everything!
Mostly A's? You have to check out this digital Meet the Counselor Game Show!
Mostly B's? You will absolutely love this highly interactive and fast paced escape room style Mission: Meet the Counselor Lesson.
Mostly C's? You need to check out this bundle so you can get a variety of fun, engaging Meet the Counselor Lessons!
How School Counselors Can Support ELL Students and Newcomers
As a school counselor you may end up working with several newcomers and ELL students (many who may have experienced trauma). It’s important to create a plan for supporting these students at the beginning of the school year.
You likely have some students at your school who are new to the country and are having a hard time adapting. These go beyond your typical new students. These kids may be refugees, speak zero english, and have experienced trauma. It's important that we as counselors know how to best support these students, their teachers, and their families.
It's a big job! Which is why I interviewed the ELL expert, Beth, from Inspiring Young Learners. Beth shares strategies for school counselors to help newcomers in this episode of School Counseling Simplified.
How school counselors can help students understand and deal with their anger
As you’re getting prepared for back to school season, you want to make sure you’re prepared to deal with challenging behaviors.
Supporting students who struggle with anger can be challenging and draining for us as counselors, because oftentimes these feelings manifest as defiance and refusal...which may cause you to feel angry too!
To make progress with these kiddos, we need to help them unpack what's underneath their anger instead of prescribing simple coping skills.
I wanted to learn more about this and figured you did too which is why I interviewed Jessica Sinarski on this episode of School Counseling Simplified. Jessica is the professional counselor behind Brave Brains and she shares how we can help students feel and deal with strong emotions, like anger, by explaining the science of the brain!
I hope these tips make you feel prepared and excited for the new school year! You’re going to help so many kiddos!