My+School+Counseling+Philosophy

I am a vital member of the education team. As a National Board Certified Counselor, I believe good school counseling is a catalyst for the intellectual, social, emotional, and cultural development of students. I teach students how to strategically face challenges, think through solutions, solve conflicts (using The Thomas-Kilmann Model), and develop strong character traits. My teaching method is Project Based Learning, which allows students to gain knowledge and skills by exploring, investigating and responding to complex questions or problems. I prefer to engage students in extended, in-depth inquiry and allow them to use the resources around them to figure things out. I believe in asking open-ended questions that allow students to see through multiple lenses. I value student voice and choice about how they express themselves and demonstrate proficiency. I see teaching as facilitating data driven instruction. I believe my approach develops students who can think for themselves and become independent and college ready.

Students should have a safe, productive, nurturing, environment to learn in. I believe classrooms, communities, and businesses are all hubs for teaching and learning. Students should be happy when they are in school and classrooms should produce a thirst for knowledge. Idle minds are the breeding ground for misbehavior and poor classroom management. When students are engaged in relevant, rigorous, instruction there is little time or predisposition for off task behavior. Building relationships with students, parents, teacher, and community members are the anchors of my approach to constructing a positive, productive classroom environment and to being an advocate for children and the teaching/counseling profession.

My Educational Leadership degree from North Carolina State University (through the Northeast Leadership (NELA) program) coupled with my Masters degree in School Counseling make me an asset to any educational institution. I am a counselor, a leader, and a change agent. I have experience and knowledge in building school culture, collaborating with community stakeholders, building relationships teachers, parents and students, strategic planning and leadership, data driven instruction and instructional leadership.

School Counselors are leaders. Here is an example of a presentation that I did this year for all of the beginning teachers in our district. I was asked to do this presentation by Mrs. Ella Batts, Executive Director for Licensed Personnel.