Meet our Counselor - Lorene Tanner

The Role of the School Counselor

Elementary school years set the tone for developing the knowledge, attitudes and skill necessary for children to become healthy, competent and confident learners. School counselors work as a team with the school staff, parents and the community to create a caring climate and atmosphere. By providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention, school counselors can help all children achieve academic success. The professional elementary school counselor holds a master’s degree and required state certification in school counseling. Maintaining certification includes on-going professional development to stay current with education reform and challenges facing today’s students. Professional association membership enhances the school counselor’s knowledge and effectiveness.

Counselor services include many different kinds of support, such as:

One-on-one parent conferencing, education and support for students with special needs, communication and networking with other schools and the community, support and education for school staff about mental health topics, coordination of schoolwide testing and interpretation of assessment results, coordination of special ed referrals, organization of activities and special events like Red Ribbon Week, academic support, individual student counseling, crisis interventions, career education, and referrals to community agencies and counseling services as appropriate.