Olive Chapel Year-Round Elementary School Counseling Program
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year. Christine Martin Byers and Kodi Nordahl are your school counselors. Our counseling program is nationally recognized for excellence by the American School Counselor Association. As your child’s school counselors, the most important part of our job is to help him/her succeed in school. We are concerned about your child’s academic progress, personal/social development and emotional well-being.
The following are provided by our program:
- Short term individual and small group counseling: Typically, we will see a student no more than four to six times about a particular issue. Issues may include divorce, peer relations, death and loss, academic needs and attendance issues. If an issue cannot be resolved in a short time frame, we will suggest that you seek resources outside of school.
- Classroom guidance lessons: Topics include bullying, conflict resolution/problem solving, study skills/test taking skills, and character education. Visit http://ocecounselors.weebly.com for a detailed list of unit topics.
- Consulting and Coordinating: We will work collaboratively with students, parents, and teachers to help students who may be struggling with academic, behavior, and/or emotional concerns.
A word about Individual Counseling … If your child’s classroom teacher feels as though your child needs to see the school counselor, the teacher will contact you initially. If your child makes a self-referral, we will not contact you unless there is a particular issue that is recurring, affects the child’s safety and well-being, and/or if the child wants us to contact you. Please be aware that by law we are not permitted to notify you if we are required to contact Child Protective Services. This would be construed as interfering in the investigation. We are not required by law to keep detailed case notes on students. Therefore, we are usually not able to testify in court cases involving custody/divorce.
How to get in touch with us…Communication between school counselors and parents is vital. If you have a concern about your child, you may call, email, and/or leave us a note. We will usually respond within two school days to discuss your concerns. Please let us know if we can assist your child with any major life changes such as separation/divorce; sickness; death; job loss, etc. If you have any questions about our counseling program, please call us or visit the counseling website http://ocecounselors.weebly.com/.
On this website, you will find updated information on current programs and many helpful links for students and families.
We look forward to working with you in the coming year to help your child have a successful experience at Olive Chapel.
Christine Martin Byers, M.Ed., LPC Kodi Nordahl, NCC
[email protected] [email protected]
919-387-4440 919-387-4440