Counseling
TAS counselors promote all students’ social, emotional, academic, and multicultural competencies in a safe, respectful, and motivating school environment. This is achieved through a collaborative partnership of school personnel, parents, and community with the purpose of preparing all students for wellness, academic success, lifelong learning, and global citizenship.
We believe:
- Student well-being is at the heart of our educational approach;
- All students are deserving of a sense of belonging and connection;
- All students are capable of change and growth;
- Student success is individually defined and enhanced by one's own unique strengths;
- It is essential to celebrate diversity in all its forms and to support our students’ development towards an awareness of their personal identities; and
- Communication between home and school should be collaborative and ongoing.
The lower school counselors have a variety of roles in the school. Initially they introduce new students and their parents to the TAS community by conducting a student orientation program to give new students an opportunity to become familiar with each other and the school environment. They also conduct interviews with children and their families in order to provide the child’s new teacher with some helpful information about the student. They follow up to help with new student adjustment.
During the school year, counselors co-teach classroom lessons around thematic themes such as personal body safety, rude, mean and bullying, and interpersonal skills. Counselors and teachers work together to respond to the needs of our students. Using data such as surveys, observations, and anecdotal notes, groups of students are identified to work directly with the counselor. Small groups of students are with the counselor for five or six sessions. The groups rotate throughout the school year. Small group sessions provide students an opportunity to build their social-emotional skills in a solution-focused group setting.
Counselors help parents by offering varied parent education seminars. In addition, counselors help parents by supporting them in addressing their children’s social and emotional development. They are available throughout the school day to meet with students or their parents when issues or concerns arise.
The lower school counselors also work very closely with the student support services team, which assists students with special learning needs. They act as advocates for students in all academic and social settings throughout the year. They assist teachers to help meet the variety of needs that children have.
Additional counseling services are also available at the Community Services Center.
TAS Counseling Philosophy
TAS counselors promote all students’ social, emotional, academic, and multicultural competencies in a safe, respectful, and motivating school environment. This is achieved through a collaborative partnership of school personnel, parents, and community with the purpose of preparing all students for wellness, academic success, lifelong learning, and global citizenship.
We believe:
- Student well-being is at the heart of our educational approach.
- All students are deserving of a sense of belonging and connection.
- All students are capable of change and growth.
- Student success is individually defined and enhanced by one's own unique strengths.
- It is essential to celebrate diversity in all its forms and to support our students’ development towards an awareness of their personal identities; and
- Communication between home and school should be collaborative and ongoing.
The lower school counselors have a variety of roles in the school. Initially they introduce new students and their parents to the TAS community by conducting a student orientation program to give new students an opportunity to become familiar with each other and the school environment. They also conduct interviews with children and their families to provide the child’s new teacher with some helpful information about the student. They follow up to help with new student adjustment.
The Lower School (LS) Counselor is responsible for providing a comprehensive school counseling program that is pro-active in design, developmental in implementation and supports
TAS students social and emotional development. The counselor also serves as a consultant to educators, families, and community partners. The lower school counselors are members of the Student Support Services team and act as advocates for students throughout the year.
In addition to providing responsive services and individual student planning, all lower school counselors collaborate and work in tandem with homeroom teachers in flexible ways to deliver social emotional programing to all students.
