School Counseling Information
In a school setting, a counselor does brief counseling. This addresses minor problems within a few sessions. The school setting is different than a therapeutic/clinical setting where diagnosis and treatment plans are created and treatment is administered for a longer period of time.
The goal of school counseling is to address minor issues which impact learning while at school. If issues continue to impact the students learning at school, after intervention by the school counselor, a referral to an outside resource will be suggested to the parents/guardians. School counselors also work with outside agencies to ensure student success while at school
The middle school counselor provides counseling to help students with academic, social, and emotional issues and concerns. The counselor at this level is key to preparing students for high school.
The Aldine ISD counseling department follows the Texas Comprehensive developmental Guidance and counseling program which is an integral part of the total educational program. It provides a systematic, planned approach for helping all students acquire and apply basic life skills by making optimal use of special knowledge and skills of school counselors.
This program is based on four components, which are as follows:
Guidance Curriculum: the purpose of the guidance curriculum is to help students acquire age-appropriate knowledge and skills within the scope of the following content areas: self-confidence, development, motivation to achieve, decision making, goal setting, planning, problem-solving skills, interpersonal effectiveness, communication skills, cross-cultural effectiveness, and responsible behavior.
Responsive Services: The purpose of the responsive services component is to intervene on behalf of those students whose immediate personal concerns or problems put their continued personal-social, career, and/or educational development at risk.
Individual Planning: The purpose of the individual planning system is to guide all students as they plan, monitor, and manage their own educational career and personal-social development.
System Support: This component describes services and management activities that indirectly benefit students.
Aldine ISD counselors facilitate instruction by removing impediments to student learning by such methods as classroom guidance, career planning, individual and group counseling, and appropriate academic course selection. In addition, Aldine ISD school counselors share the common goals and objectives of the district: to prepare ALL STUDENTS academically and socially to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and to become responsible and productive citizens.