Academic Support

• Classroom Guidance:  The Counselor teaches a minimum of six guidance lessons in each classroom. Lessons are developmentally appropriate and align with the Virginia Standards of Learning as well as the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards. Topics include character development, bullying, social skills, friendship, safety, and career development.

• Individual Counseling:  Students who need social and/or emotional support in order to achieve academically are referred by teachers and/or parents for individual counseling. Individual counseling is scheduled during the first 30 minutes in the morning throughout the school year.

• Lunch Bunch:  Students voluntarily sign up for informal luncheon with the counselor in the counseling office. During lunch bunch students talk about concerns and/or review schoolwork.

• Middle School Transition: (February-April) Students register academic programs at the Middle School during February. Later in the year all 5th graders visit Middle Schools for orientation meetings.

• Passport Program:   New students meet for luncheon with the School Counselor, receive a ‘passport’ to guide them around the school, visit other students in their grade, and make a phone call home to connect with a parent/guardian by the end of the first week of school.

• Too Smart to Start:  The Partnership for Children, Youth and Families, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington Police Department and Department of Human Services have created this program focusing on delaying the onset of alcohol use, one of the identified risk behaviors from Arlington data.  Too Smart to Start is designed to give 5th grade students the knowledge and skills to refuse alcohol. The program consists of 2 student presentations and a family/parent presentation.  Each student lesson is 45-60 minutes in length and is presented to individual classes (no more than 30 students per group).

Behavioral Support

• Blue Stars Mentoring:  Blue stars (students) are paired with teachers. During 2006-07, Fourteen teachers mentored thirty-seven students. Mentor teachers support students in various ways like weekly lunch, help with homework, attending sports events.

• Gold Stars Mentoring: 4th and 5th graders (who are Virginia Preschool Initiative graduates) mentor current VPI students. The older students each sponsor 3 or 4 VPI students. On a weekly basis they read to them, help preschoolers learn their phone numbers and addresses, and accompany them to the library.

• Peer Mediation: 4th and 5th graders voluntarily participate in peer mediation training. The trainees meet during lunchtime for six weeks to learn skills. In March, trained mediators attend the Annual Elementary Day at the Mediation Conference at George Mason University.

• Small Group Counseling:  Small group (5 students or less) counseling  sessions respond to teacher referrals and parent permission.  Groups address topical issues such as social skills building, study skills, school anxiety once or twice a week for six consecutive weeks.

Character Development

• Character Wall:  One Student is identified each month for showing excellence in one of the pillars of character (respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, and being a good citizen). The student’s picture and explanation of why they received the award are displayed on a bulletin board and highlighted at Friday assembly.

• K-Kids:  2nd through 5th grade students volunteer at the beginning of each year to be in Kiwanis-Kids (K-Kids). Each year we have about 100 students sign up to be members. Each grade level meets separately, once a month, during lunch to organize community-building or service activities (e.g., the homeless walk, breast cancer walk, food, toy and/or book collections, etc.).