I am Kristin Dickerson and I'm the school counselor for East Montpelier Elementary School.

• Develop a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate school counseling program to address the needs of all students.
• Work as a team with school staff, parents, and the community to create a caring climate.
• Provide education, prevention, early identification and intervention of social, emotional, and academic challenges to help children reach their potential.           -from the American School Counselor Association web site

What services does the school counseling program provide?

• Short-term individual and small-group counseling
• Classroom guidance lessons, which focus on educating children about understanding themselves and others, peer relationships, coping strategies, personal safety, effective social skills, communication, problem solving, conflict resolution, substance use prevention, academic skills (organizational, study, and test-taking skills), diversity awareness, goal setting, decision making, and career exploration.
• Consultation to parents and teachers about student concerns
• Parent conferences to provide parent education
• Individual, family, and school crisis intervention
• Collaboration and teaming with school staff to address ways to meet students' needs
• Referrals to outside agencies and counseling services
• Transition plans for students moving up to U-32
• Connections to resources and information to help with social, emotional, and academic issues
• Creation of behavior plans for students with behavioral challenges
• Help with conducting school-wide climate surveys and needs assessments