Student Services
School Counselors & Social WorkersOverview
The mission of the School District of La Crosse School Counselors and Social Workers is to provide services to students, families and schools with the primary focus of removing barriers to learning.
The District is committed to providing each school with a professional school counselor and/or social worker.
The role of the school counselor and/or social worker is to become aware of the needs of the students and the school so that they may respond appropriately to those needs through best practices and quality standards.
Listed below are some, but certainly not all, of the responsibilities charged to your school counselor and/or social worker, along with a listing of personnel.
Education
- Educate school staff and community on issues of cultural diversity.
- Facilitate support groups for the development of social skills, positive decision making
- Help students achieve maximum academic success
- Assist parents in understanding and supporting their children’s education
- Encourage and monitor regular school attendance and punctuality of students
- Encourage students to participate in academic, career, and personal/social counseling–the delivery systems for the school counseling program are often coordinated and reflected in planned classroom guidance, individual counseling and group counseling
Advocacy
- Serve as a voice for students struggling to communicate their needs and opinions
- Guide families in pursuit of needs, goods and services in the community
- Serve as liaison between student/family/school in conflict situations
- Report concerns of child abuse, neglect to appropriate agencies
- Assist parents in better understanding children’s social/emotional needs
- Represent school position and needs in crisis situations and court interventions
- Provide counseling to students and families and consultations to school staff
- Initiate parent conferences and make home visits to assess environmental factors affecting students education and social/emotional well being
Community
- Seek out and establish relationships with representatives of local agencies
- Establish community resource directory
- Encourage community and business leaders to participate in school activities
- Serve on community outreach organizations and input ideas on development of policy
- Maintain visible presence in the community as a volunteer in various organizations advocating for the welfare of children and youth
- School counselors and social workers adhere to the ethical standards of the profession and are often involved in professional development.