OMS GUIDANCE COUNSELING

I am so excited to serve as the Oneonta Middle School counselor for the 2021-22 school year. This is my 20th year to be in education, and my 17th year in the Oneonta City School system. I have been married to Justin Ashby for 19 years and we have three children. Elsie Kate will be in 10th grade, Lucy will be in 8th grade, and Hudson will be in Kindergarten. 

I enjoy working with students and helping them with social/emotional skills as well as making plans to reach their academic goals. I think Oneonta is a great place to work and go to school. Go skins! 

Middle school counselor and counseling office

The purpose of the middle school counselor is two-fold:

1. Direct and guide a planned calendar of counseling activities and programs for large and small groups as well as referred individuals.
2. Act as liaison between referred students and other students, teachers, administrators, parents, and appropriate social agencies.

Referrals may be made verbally, electronically or by filling out a counseling referral form. A referral may originate from the student, a parent, a teacher, an administrator, or anyone else concerned about the student and/or his/her situation. Once the referral is made, the counselor schedules counseling time agreeable to all parties concerned. Relevant information will be shared with these parties as is appropriate. Teachers are urged to make counseling referrals BEFORE the problem becomes one of discipline. The counselor does not function in the role of disciplinarian.

504 Referrals are discussed with the counselor and the principal. An Evaluation will take place to collect the necessary documentation then a plan is agreed upon to implement in the classroom. 

The counseling office is available for special conferences. Before setting the conference dates, teachers and counselor discuss the purpose of the meeting.

The counselor attends “Response to Instructions” (RtI) meetings. The role of the counselor on this team is to provide assistance for the teachers and suggestions to appropriate strategies that will enable the at-risk student to become successful in the classroom.  

The Oneonta Middle School Counseling Office embraces and adheres to the Alabama State Board of Education's Standards for School Counseling and Guidance. These documents are kept in the office of the counselor and are available upon request. 

Individual student planning includes counseling activities that provide every student with an opportunity to plan, monitor, and manage their academic, career, and personal/social development. It emphasizes time management, organizational skills, test interpretation, job shadowing and career advice as well as anger management, school anxiety, grief and stress.

GUIDELINES

            Teachers or Parents request that the student receives counseling services. Or teacher can e-mail counselor regarding a situation to handle.  If the issue was about violating school discipline guidelines or dress code then disciplinary actions are forwarded to the administration to follow procedures stated in the student handbook. Otherwise, the counselor schedules an appropriate time to pull the student out of the class to assist with his/her needs.

            During the counseling sessions, the counselor assists the students with decision-making and goal setting to improve on the area of concern. The counselor’s job is to help the student develop a healthy self-concept, and adapt to proper social behavior.

Individual counseling sessions are set up as needed.  Parents are usually contacted to be informed of the situation. The counselor will check with the teachers to follow up on the individual cases, then evaluate whether to continue individual counseling, discontinue or recommend to the parents resource services in the community.

SHARE is a service on site for severe cases of individual needs. Parents contact school counselor for information and referral process.