• The School Counseling Program at Hudson Elementary School provides classroom lessons, small groups, short-term individual counseling and crisis intervention, as well as consultation and collaboration with all stakeholders including students, guardians, teachers, administration and community organizations. The focus of the program is prevention and to foster positive academic, personal/social, and career development for all students.   

    The vision of the counseling program at Hudson Elementary is to inspire our students to demonstrate the school’s core values of helping out, exhibiting respect and staying safe.  By taking a holistic approach, we provide lessons, small groups and individual counseling that addresses the academic success, personal/social/emotional growth and career development of our students. 

    Our counseling mission is to provide an environment for our students that is safe and nurtures their abilities to reach their full potential.  Through our collaboration with faculty/staff, families and community partners, we hope to help our students access the tools necessary for them to be successful in life.  

    As members of the support team at HES, the School Counselors advocate for all students to work toward a successful school year.

    Classroom Counseling Lessons:

    Classroom counseling lessons generally address character education, bully prevention, conflict resolution, communication skills, stress management, and other topics.  As the year progresses, we will provide parents with information of what we speak about in classroom counseling lessons through our Counselors' Corner Newsletter.

    Here you can not only follow the social and emotional journey of your child, but you will also be provided with the necessary topics of discussion that can help navigate conversations on the home front.  Lesson objectives are based on the North Carolina Guidance Essential Standards and the ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success.

    Small Group Counseling:

    Small groups are a way that a School Counselor can see a small number of students at the same time who are struggling with similar issues such as bullying,  anger management, conflict resolution, boundaries, motivation and perfectionism, stress/anxiety, testing, divorce/family changes, grief, self-esteem/positive self-expression, etc. These groups can help students learn coping skills, social skills, organizational skills, and develop other skills in areas they may be struggling in.   They are also a great opportunity for students to learn from each other. Groups encourage students to help one another, share ideas, and further develop life skills.  The sessions are interactive and based on the needs of group members. While the sessions are designed to be beneficial to all students, only a select number of students are invited to participate in groups at a time to facilitate strong relationships in the group.  The majority of referrals come through teacher and parent recommendations. 

    Each group is completely voluntary and beneficial in the social and emotional development of a child. 

    Individual Counseling:

    Individual counseling is developmental and designed to help students gain a better understanding of themselves and/or others, define goals, and resolve conflicts.  Students may meet with the counselor upon student request, parent/guardian request, teacher/administrative referral or counselor invitation. Parents/guardians may request counseling for their child(ren) utilizing the parent request forms. Requests from students can be made by filling out a School Counselor request form online or by putting a note in the counselors' mailbox. 

    ***Individual counseling is provided on a short-term basis.  Referrals to outside agencies will be made for on-going issues.***

    Confidentiality:

    At the elementary level, students are learning to understand the value of privacy for themselves, their families, and for others.  Respecting this right to privacy, or confidentiality, is imperative to a successful counseling relationship. It allows students to share their concerns with a trusted adult who will listen non-judgmentally and help them problem-solve in an environment where they know they are both physically and emotionally safe.  

    Information shared by students in the context of counseling will be kept confidential.  However, limitations do exist to maintaining confidentiality as required by law and ethical obligations.  

    These include:

    • Intent to harm self/others
    • Suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult
    • An appropriate court order is received

    While confidentiality is very important in our roles as School Counselors, we recognize that parent/guardian and teacher communication is essential to helping students.  We respect a student's right to privacy so we will ask for a student's permission to speak to a parent/guardian and/or teacher about a situation when we feel there is pertinent information to help us work together as a team to support the child.  In instances where we are concerned about the safety of a student or someone else based on information shared with us, we will inform the student that we are required to inform parents and other necessary adults (such as administration and/or the School Resource Officer).  Contacts with parents are made via phone call or email so it is vital that the school has up to date contact information.

    We encourage parents to contact us if you have questions or concerns about your child.