(speaker) Middle school is very different than elementary school, obviously, and so my grade level-- my first grade level, sixth grade, they're really doing that transition all year long, and it's a lot for them to be responsible for seven different classes and teachers and work and materials, and just learning that organization and executive functioning skills is a big part of where they're at right now, and I try to help them with that.

[dynamic music]

(Describer) In a conference room, students sit around a table. An animated "Hall Pass" appears. A title: Meet the School Counselor.

My name is Mary Cory. I am a middle school counselor in Fairview Park, Ohio. Oh, what isn't the role of the counselor? Student support, student achievement, advocate. Specifically, licensed professional school counselors are trained in three domains as per the American School Counseling Association: academic, social/emotional, and college and career. So our team of counselors in the school district, I'm one of five K through 12, and we developed a comprehensive school counseling plan, so we deliver direct services to students following a set plan of themes we cover and lessons that we do that cover those three domains. But then there's, like, the everything else, you know, category, which is literally whatever happens in a day. A day could be calm and I could be going through my scheduled meetings and activities with students, and I could have to wipe everything from a morning or an entire day based on something that happens either in school or information that we get from outside of school, so it really is to be available. I would say the role of the school counselor is to be available, to be open, to be a regulated adult that kids and families can utilize for support in whatever it is that's going on. Yeah, we're gonna take volunteers to read... I work with kids a lot on emotional regulation in general, just learning skills to cope with strong emotions. You know, at their stage of development, they're both learning that self-awareness but experiencing really strong emotions. Because of their developmental stage, their emotions are coming on like, you know, a high-speed train. It's new for them, and it can be scary and overwhelming for them, so we do a lot of just coping skills to manage whatever emotions those are, also working with them on identifying when their emotions are strong and how to manage their external environment with that knowledge. I work with kids a lot on peer mediation; on setting aspirations and goals, short-term and long-term; work with them on the boots-on-the-ground academic things that are going on, their realities.

♪

(Describer) Mary sits typing at her desk. Words appear: Advice for Parents.

You know, I have parents call me for all kinds of different things, questions about school and just sort of, like, formalities, but also, you know, I really seek to foster relationships with parents where they could call me about a situation that's going on at home and kind of, like, bounce ideas off me or at least-- and even if they're not seeking advice or counsel about a situation, just knowing what's going on with their children at home, 'cause kids present very differently at school. They're trying really hard. They're expending a lot of energy to do all the things we just talked about: be where they need to be, have what they need to have, follow the rules, which this set of rules is different in this class and different in this class. So that's an incredible load for them to have, and oftentimes they go home and, you know, it's all over at that point, so it's good for us to know here what's happening in that different setting so that we can make sure to assist them with building more balance in the parts of their lives that, you know, are requiring a lot of them. Like, if anything, I would say "guidance counselor" is just an outdated term that described a totally different role than the licensed professional school counseling role. Guidance counseling was the role that we remember of, you know, scheduling classes and making sure students have credits they need to move on to the next grade and just kind of, like, maybe being around for crisis assistance. The licensed professional school counselor is an educated, trained expert in, like I said, the academic domain, social/emotional, and college and career counseling in addition to addressing mental health needs and wellness in the school setting.

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(Describer) The students at the conference table smile. Logos appear: IdeaStream; Ohio Broadcast Educational Media Commission; Ohio Department of Education. Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.