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Birdville Independent School District Counseling Program
The Birdville Independent School District Counseling Program combines counseling, consultation, and coordination to facilitate academic success, personal and social development, and career and college guidance for all students. The professional school counselor, as a member of the educational team, assists students and consults with parents and teachers to foster student success in academic programs, school attendance, school safety, graduation programs, academic and career opportunities, conflict resolution, and responsible behavior.
Professional school counselors also interpret test results to improve student performance and facilitate school and district planning. Finally, crisis intervention counselors intervene when immediate concerns put the student's educational development at risk. We hope you find the information on this site useful. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call the school counselor at your child's school. We are here to help.
Program Overview
The Birdville ISD school counselor's job is one that encompasses many areas in the school setting. The main goal for all counselors is to help make the student's school experience a positive one so that their fullest potential can be reached, becoming happy, healthy, and contributing members of society. Birdville ISD counselors are responsible for implementing all components of the Birdville Comprehensive Developmental Guidance Counseling Program. These components are:- Guidance Curriculum-Provides guidance content in a proactive, systematic manner,
- Responsive Services-Addresses the immediate concerns of students,
- Individual Planning-Assists students in monitoring and understanding their own development in the educational, career, and personal-social arenas,
- System Support-Includes program and staff support activities and services. The guidance counselor's professional attitude and conduct include the establishment and maintenance of professional relationships with students, parents, staff, and the community.
The Birdville ISD School Counselor:
- Identifies the needs of students
- Promotes positive attitudes and choices
- Provides students with decision-making, goal-setting, planning, and problem-solving skills
- Interprets test results to provide information about abilities, needs, achievements, and interests
- Demonstrates a commitment to student success
- Provides for transition planning from elementary to middle school, from middle school to high school, and from high school to post-high school
- Provides a caring, safe environment for students
- Consults with parents through individual and group meetings
- Extends support to students, parents, and teachers
- Communicates with parents and staff
- Addresses prevention and intervention
- Monitors graduation credit requirements
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Encourages the exploration of educational opportunities
The Birdville ISD Crisis Intervention Counselor:
- Provides responsive service assistance to individual students or small groups whose immediate concerns or problems put their academic, physical, emotional, social, or behavioral development at risk;
- Provides system support by working cooperatively to strengthen the efforts of administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and community service agencies to resolve student concerns;
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Provides a guidance curriculum to help students develop basic life skills to their full potential with limited counseling sessions as outlined by district guidelines as well as support group sessions as needed;
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Assures confidentiality;
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Serves as a resource to families and school personnel for consultation and training;
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Attends workshops, training seminars, planning meetings, and continuing education sessions;
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Is knowledgeable of academic requirements for student success;
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Adheres to ethical, legal, professional, and district standards;
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Assists in the adjustment of students returning from outside placements by using community resources to provide a structured liaison between the school and the outside agency;
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Acts as a first responder and provides immediate assistance/aid in crisis situations on campus and throughout the district and provides aftercare service for those individuals and groups who are affected by a traumatic incident;
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Identifies students with various behaviors related to drug/alcohol use, child abuse, pregnancy, family and peer problems, violence, etc.
School Counseling Staff
Elementary
Twenty elementary schools with twenty-three Professional School Counselors. All elementary schools have the services of ten crisis intervention counselors.
Middle School
Each of the seven middle schools has a full-time professional school counselor and a crisis intervention counselor.
High School
The four high schools have a counseling department. Students are divided by alphabet or grade level among several counselors. One school counselor serves as the lead or department chair. Every high school has one Career and Technology Education counselor who may share a student load with the other counselors. Every high school has two full-time crisis intervention counselors. Three of the high school counseling departments also have an administrative clerk and an educational assistant.