SCHOOL COUNSELOR
What Is A School Counselor?
A school counselor is someone who acts in the process of guiding. She also helps students and parents seek advice about educational, social and emotional matters. The school counselor at the Doyon Elementary School is available to help students in all areas of growth and development.
The Doyon school counselor provides the following services to the school community:
Individual Counseling
Individual counseling is provided by the school counselor. The counselor services children as determined through professional assessment, TEAM recommendations, outside referrals, and parent referrals. Counseling is provided for students as needed for intervention and remediation.
Group Counseling
Group counseling is provided for students. Groups are determined through TEAM recommendations, outside referrals and parent referrals.
Lunch Bunch Groups
Lunch Bunch Groups are held for grades 1-5 during respective lunch times. Each group is 30 minutes. Participation is voluntary. The purpose of these groups is to provide developmentally appropriate social skills for the students in an enjoyable setting.
Section 504 Accommodation Plans
The guidance counselor will maintain a master file of all 504 plans and a checklist to monitor all procedural and notification needs for each plan.
Who is eligible? "Any individual who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such a person's major life activities, including learning."
Section 504 recommendations may emerge from Problem Solving Team meetings when formal testing leads to the conclusion that the child has a significant impairment substantially interfering with an important life function, the child does not qualify for special education, and evaluation data is on file.
Problem Solving Team Facilitaion
The Problem Solving Team meetings are facilitated by the school counselor. The Problem Solving Team meetings have two components. The first component of the meeting is primarily to assist the classroom teachers by providing a model which will facilitate the opportunity to collaborate and problem solve when there are presenting concerns regarding a specific student. The second component of the meeting is to provide the opportunity for student informational updates and any other additional information to be shared in a brief, concise manner.
The Problem Solving Team is not a special education referral committee, but a means to differentiate between students who can be helped within the regular classroom and those who require the comprehensive evaluation involved in the special education referral process.
The goal of the Problem Solving Team is to ensure that students can succeed in the mainstream of education with appropriate modifications and accommodations as deemed necessary, and to provide a regular, consistent forum in which the status of students can be addressed.
Character Education Facilitation
Character education at the Doyon School is committed to the growth and development of pro-social skills for each and every one of our students. Through the goals established by the administration and our staff, we strive for our students to learn lifelong skills that develop a caring school community infused with respect and responsibility; and will carry into their adulthood. At Doyon we are committed to working hard to reduce the incidents of bullying and harassment. In the past we have been fortunate with the financial help of The Friends of Ipswich Elementary Schools to provide teacher resources and training as well as student assemblies to continue our goals. At Doyon we will continue to hold the standards of respect and responsibility high as we will also continue to look for community support our character education at Doyon.
MCAS Coordinator
The Doyon school counselor coordinates The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System . The 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Law mandates that all students in the tested grades who are educated with Massachusetts public funds participate in the MCAS.
MCAS Schedule
