Character Education

Elementary counselors provide lessons to all students on social-emotional themes, such as responsibility, honesty, persistence, kindness, gratitude, friendship, and stress reduction. Generally drawn from needs assessments of students and teachers, these lessons provide students with information to improve in these areas as well as to support peers as they learn to master these important skills. While middle and high school students generally don’t need direct instruction on these topics, counselors often work with small groups of students whose behavior indicates a lack of practice in specific social-emotional competencies. In these small groups, students rehearse new behaviors in a safe environment, allowing them to gain confidence in social interactions with family members, school personnel, and peers.