Our School Counseling Program defined:

A K-12 comprehensive, developmental, systemic set of school counseling interventions and services planned, implemented, and evaluated using Advocacy, Leadership, Collaboration, and System Change Skills In four areas: Delivery, Foundation, Management, Accountability (Outcomes) that ensure every student receives an annual plan, school counseling curriculum lessons, and additional activities and group and individual counseling as needed.

The four components ensure every student receives an annual plan, school counseling curriculum lessons, and additional activities depending on grade level 1 (Tier 1), that students who need extra support are provided group counseling (Tier 2), and that students needing further support are provided with individual counseling and external referrals (Tier 3) to enhance every studentundefineds academic, career, college/post-secondary, and social-emotional skills.

MISSION:

School Counseling Program Vision: What We Want For Every Student

The Norwalk School Counseling AND SOCIAL SERVICES Program collaborates with families, educators, and community partners to empower, inspire, and spark every student’s interest, knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their maximum potential in academics, career/college, and social-emotional domains.

School Counselors advocate, facilitate, coordinate, and implement a comprehensive school counseling program with multi-tiered supports ensuring access, equity, and success so that every student is a responsible and productive citizen, lifelong learner, and problem-solver FACING THE ONGOING CHALLENGES OF COVID-19 AND RACISM.

School Counseling Program Mission: How the Vision is Implemented:

• The Norwalk School Counseling Program facilitates the academic, college/career, and social-emotional skills and growth of all students by creating a safe, caring, and engaging learning environment.
• We use data, partner with members of the school and community, and create opportunities that foster cooperation, share responsibility, and promote/celebrate diversity so that students become successful lifelong learners developing competencies from a robust school counseling program curriculum, annual planning with every student, and group and individual counseling.
• The Norwalk Public Schools Counseling Program facilitates students' academic, college/career, and social-emotional skills of students by creating a safe, caring, and engaging learning environment. We use data, partner with members of the school and community, and create opportunities that foster cooperation, share responsibility, and promote/celebrate diversity so that students become successful lifelong learners developing competencies from a robust school counseling program curriculum, annual planning with every student, and group and individual counseling.

VISION: School Counseling Program Vision: What We Want For Every Student 

• The Norwalk School Counseling Program collaborates with families, educators, and community partners to empower, inspire, and spark every student’s interest, knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their maximum potential in academics, career/college, and social-emotional domains.
• School Counselors, advocate facilitate, coordinate, and implement a comprehensive school counseling program with multi-tiered support ensuring access, equity, and success so that every student is a responsible and productive citizen, lifelong learner, and problem-solver FACING THE ONGOING CHALLENGES OF COVID-19 AND RACISM. 

School Counseling Program Mission: How the Vision is Implemented

• The Norwalk School Counseling Program facilitates all students' academic, college/career, and social-emotional skills and growth of all students by creating a safe, caring, and engaging learning environment. 
• We use data, partner with members of the school and community, and create opportunities that foster cooperation, share responsibility, and promote/celebrate diversity so that students become successful lifelong learners developing competencies from a robust school counseling program curriculum, annual planning with every student, and group and individual counseling.
• The Norwalk School Counseling Program collaborates with families, educators, and community partners to empower, inspire, and spark every student’s interest, knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their maximum potential in academic, career/college, and social-emotional domains. School Counselors advocate, coordinate, and implement a comprehensive school counseling program with multi-tiered support ensuring access, equity, and success. Every student is a responsible and productive citizen, lifelong learner, and problem-solver.

School Counseling Program Beliefs The School Counseling Program Staff believe/value:

• SCP Supports changing school improvement plans  
• SCP aligns with the district’s mission and  goals
• Access to Challenging Curriculum for Every Student’s Opportunity (AP, IB, Honors, Gifted/Talented)
• Every Student Feeling Affirmed, Encouraged, Respected, Safe, Seen, Validated, Respected, and Treated with Dignity.
• Every student has an Annually Updated Plan
• Every student’s success
• Disaggregating Student Data for Equity Assessment
• Meeting the Academic and Social-Emotional Needs of Every Student
• Positive Asset/Strength Development of Every Student
• In promoting and publicizing SCP's mission/vision/beliefs/goals/results/outcomes  to all stakeholders and sharing results/outcomes with all
• Collaboration with all stakeholders, especially other educators, staff,  building leaders, students, families, and CBOs in a building-level SCP Advisory Council and throughout the year.
• SC Office in each building is a well-resourced, accessible, and visible location
• SCs do no discipline; that is referred to APs, Deans, and Principals; SCs do counseling only after the facts; SCs are consultants with restorative justice teams
• SCs work as part of a crisis team but are not first responders for all crises; school counselors counsel after the fact unless the situation has an emotional component and then they may do triage work; 1 SC or SSW or SPSy is on call per day at each building for emotional crisis consultation so that all SCP staff are not interrupted.
• SCs will assist in a district-wide crisis plan to focus on prevention strategies, not reactivity.
• SCs advocate for appropriately funded translation services for families and not pull staff who speak the languages from other roles in the building.
• SCs will assist building leaders with master schedules  as equity consultants across all schools (which students need the greatest support and greatest challenges in academics) in fall and spring so that schedule changes are reduced to a bare minimum at the start of the semester
• SCs need administrative staff dedicated at every building to the SCP to get a faster turnaround when students/families need information and to increase responsiveness esp. At key transitions between building levels and at the start and end of semesters; the college process.
• Dedicated career/college administrative staff at both high schools to do the administrative work associated with effective college/career counseling
• Dedicated college/career center staff, technology, and resources in each high school are critical to making the centers effective
• SCP will develop a protocol to collaborate on the implementation and evaluation of CBO services/outcomes/efficiency in the ACCESS domains
• Lessening the administrative/crisis burden on school counselors allows more time for underserved student/family needs
• SCP implements MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support)/SRBI (Scientific Research-Based Interventions)

School Counseling Program Goals Academic/Social-Emotional (Achievement Gap): Implement/evaluate study skills/student success skills for all students annually:

• Academic/Career/College/Social-Emotional (Opportunity Gap): Implement, update, and evaluate an annual K-12 ACCESS/Accomplishments/Pathways Plan for every Student
• Career (Opportunity Gap): Middle School Career Pathways Fair
• College (Opportunity Gap): College Access/Affordability Lessons for Elem/Middle School Families and 9th-grade Families
• The SCP will develop a school counseling curriculum map for every grade level on specific ACCESS skills to be delivered annually.
• Change all documentation, signage, policies, paperwork, job descriptions, websites, and titles/offices to School Counselor, School Counseling Office, Director of School Counseling, etc.