Counseling Services
LINKS
College & Career Readiness
9-12th Grade Planning Checklist
Advanced Placement / Dual Enrollment
Tutoring Options (once per month)
School Policies:
School based counselors are highly qualified educators who hold at least a master's degree in counseling and specialize in mental health care for staff and students. They are equipped to identify and eliminate obstacles to learning, while providing education, prevention, early identification, and intervention services to meet the needs of students, including academic, career development, and social & emotional development, which may include the following services:
Core Counseling Curriculum: Delivery of systematic lessons or planned-activities outside the classroom, promoting knowledge, attitudes, and skills essential for student competencies.
Individual Counseling: Planned, goal-focused, short-term counseling sessions designed to help students overcome issues hindering success or expressing difficulties in dealing with developmental tasks.
Small Group Counseling: Ongoing group counseling sessions tailored for students facing similar developmental or situational challenges, with the aim of achieving healthy personal adjustment and coping with the stress of changing/complex environments.
Crisis Response: Providing support and assistance to students navigating critical and emergency situations. This involves recognizing and responding to student mental health crises, offering crisis and short-term intervention, referral, and follow-up.
Individual Student Planning: Analyzing and evaluating students' abilities, interests, skills, and achievements as the foundation for helping them make decisions and develop immediate and long-range educational, career, and personal plans.
Collaboration: Collaborating with other stakeholders to support student achievement, advocating for student programs, and facilitating workshops on student developmental issues for parents/guardians.
Consultation: Working with professionals both inside and outside the school building to share support, strategies, and information to identify and address barriers to student achievement.
Referrals: Directing students and parents to school or community resources as needed, while maintaining connections with these resources to wrap support services around students in all environments.
*Adapted from the American School Counseling Association’s National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (3rd ed).
Student Resources
Other Resources
Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or
1-800-500-1119
1-800-RUN-AWAY (786-2929)
National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline
1-866-331-9474 or text
LOVEIS to 22522
National Human Trafficking Hotline
1-888-373-7888 or text to 233733
1-844-623-5674
National Eating Disorders Association
212-575-6200
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Text HOME to 741741
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678
National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
1-800-4-A-CHILD (422-2253)
Students In Crisis
If you need immediate support due to a crisis, please utilize the below resources.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Call 911: Utilize emergency response services if you are in immediate danger and/or require emergency response personnel.
SUICIDE CRISIS LIFELINE
Call 988: Utilize this number as a suicide crisis lifeline. This three-digit number will route the caller to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
MOBILE RESPONSE TEAM (MRT)
Call the Mobile Response Team (MRT) at 1-800-539-4228: The Mobile Response Team cares for children, adolescents, and adults who are feeling depressed, alone, suicidal, or bullied. The team responds to local calls from SMA Healthcare, Inc.
Mental Health Hotline
Students may be referred by staff and/or parents to the school-based Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to determine if school-based or community-based interventions are needed. Targeted interventions are provided in the following areas:
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Anxiety, Depression, Self-Esteem, Trauma
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Self-Regulation, Impulse Control
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Aggression, Anger Management
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Social Skills
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Performance, Motivation Difficulty
Multi-Disciplinary Team Members: School Administrator, School Counselor, School Psychologist, School Social Worker, Student Services Manager, School Resource Officer, when applicable.
Multi-Disciplinary Team Parent Referral: If you would like to request MCPS Mental Wellness support for your child, fill out the Multi-Disciplinary Team Referral Form and submit the completed form to your child’s School Counselor
Homeless Services
The Rights of Homeless Parents and
their Children McKinney-Vento Act
(Title 1X, Part A)
Your student(s) have the right to:
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Go to school, no matter where you live or how long you have lived there;
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Stay in the school that he/she was attending before becoming homeless or the school he/she last attended, that that is your choice and in the best interest of the child;
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Enroll in school immediately, even if you do not have all the paperwork, such as your child's school or medical records;
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Access the same public education that is provided to other children, including pre-school (Your child cannot be separated from the mainstream school environment because he/she is homeless. He/she cannot be segregated in a separate school, separate programs within the school, or separate learning environments within a school.
If your child is assigned to a school not of your choosing, you have the right to appeal the district’s decision regarding the school to which your child has been assigned. Your child has the right to go to the school of
your choice while the dispute is being resolved.