Mission Statement of the

Conemaugh Valley and East Taylor Elementary School Guidance Program

The mission of our school counseling program is to facilitate each student’s personal/social, academic and career development through the counselors’ delivery of guidance and counseling activities as well as through a collaborative effort between the home, school and community. The school counselor, as part of the Conemaugh Valley and East Taylor Elementary Schools’ learning community, will facilitate the support system so all students have access to the tools enabling them to become responsible and productive citizens, who can effectively manage future challenges and who can progress confidently into an ever-changing society.

Philosophy of the

Conemaugh Valley and East Taylor Elementary Schools Guidance Program

The professional school counselor believes every child can learn and that all students have an equal right to access a certified school counselor and to participate in a comprehensive school counseling program designed to ensure student success. The following principles are the foundation for the school counseling program:

· All students have dignity and worth and have the right to be served by a comprehensive school counseling program.

· Learning involves the education of the whole person and is a continuous lifelong process

· Learning requires the active participation, mutual respect and individual accountability of students, teachers, staff, parents and community members.

· There is a collaborative effort among the school counselor, administration and teachers to coordinate with parents and the community.

· The components of the school counseling program are based upon identified student needs.

· Include education that extends beyond the classroom environment and allows students to develop lifelong skills that can assist them in the pursuit of their life goals.

· Consider all students’ ethnic, cultural, racial, sexual orientation and special needs when planning and implementing the school counseling program.

· Be data-driven. Data will be used in assessing the needs and effectiveness of the school counseling program and will drive future program development and evaluation.

· In order that students and families shall receive the most professional services possible, the Conemaugh Valley and East Taylor schools’ counselor shall abide by the code of ethics in her delivery of services as is advocated by the American School Counselor Association

· . Additionally, the school counselor shall participate in ongoing professional development activities designed to increase and enhance both her skills and credibility in the performance of her duties within the school community.