Welcome to Oakridge Middle School
Counseling Services

As OMS counselors we are…
Student advocates and partners in student achievement.

Each child, Each day...Excellence

Middle School is indeed a time of adventure. As your school counselors, we are available to help your child navigate his/her way through the year. You may be wondering how we can be of assistance to your child. Here are just a few areas where we can lend a helping hand: Relationships, Conflicts, School Success, Careers, Communication Skills, and many more… Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. 

The Purpose of School Counseling
 
Our comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling program is an educational, preventive and responsive approach to the needs of students. The program joins the educational system in promoting achievement by assisting students in learning the skills and attitudes necessary to be successful. The school counseling program is guided by the ASCA model (American School Counseling Association) and facilitates student development in three domains:

PERSONAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:

ASCA student standards for personal/social development guide school counseling programs to provide the foundation for personal and social growth as students progress through school and into adulthood.

ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT:

ASCA student standards for academic development guide school counseling programs to implement strategies and activities to support and maximize each student's ability to learn.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT:

ASCA student standards for career development guide school counseling programs to provide the foundation for the acquisition of skills, attitudes, and knowledge that enable students to make a successful transition from school to the world of work, and from job to job across the life span. 


The School Counselor’s Role: 

¨ Conduct small group counseling sessions that are growth centered, problem centered, and crisis centered

¨ Counsel individually with students

¨ Consult with teachers so that optimal success is insured for students

¨ Consult with parents about their child

¨ Provide parenting workshops, resource materials

¨ Offer support and Crisis Intervention

¨ Coordinate PSAT Testing

¨ Coordinate EXPLORE Career Assessment

¨ Coordinate End-Of-Course Test

¨ Coordinate specialized school-wide activities and programs such as: Character Education, New Student Orientation and Job Shadowing experiences

¨ Assist Parents and Students with (IGP) Individual Graduation Plan development

¨ Provide Career Exploration to students
 
The school counseling program offers a variety of small groups:

¨ Growth-Centered Groups focus on the personal and social-development of student and is appropriate for all/any student

¨ Program-centered groups focus on specific, common problem

¨ Crisis-centered groups are concerned with an urgent problem where immediate attention to some incident or circumstance is warranted

Some of the groups offered in the past have been:

The Friendship Connection, School Success, Family Changes, Stress/Anger Management, Increasing Self-Confidence, and Grief and Loss.