Our Mission: To offer a quality, research-based, and developmentally appropriate counseling program for all students in order to provide them with skills for success in academic, career, and social/emotional development.
Our Goals:
- To help all students develop the abilities necessary to make healthy decisions in personal, social, career-based, and educational choices.
- To help students, parents, teachers, and administrators handle problems within the classroom and school environment.
- To support parents in developing and understanding the skills necessary to help their children with decisions.
- To support faculty and administrators in using a proactive, healthy approach that will promote a safe, educational environment.
Welcome! My name is Kristen Sturm, and I am the elementary counselor for Maplewood Local Schools. My job is to help your child through the wonderful and sometimes challenging elementary school years. I want my office to be a safe place for your child to visit if he/she is having unpleasant feelings, needs help solving a problem, wants to set goals, or just needs someone to listen to him/her. I hope to assist your child in becoming socially, emotionally, and academically competent. As a school counselor, I will focus on four main areas in my position. These areas include:
- Guidance Curriculum: Classroom guidance lessons will be conducted to instruct our students on lessons that involve academic, career, and social/emotional topics. The goal of the lesson is to enhance student learning and help them develop into productive citizens.
- Responsive Services: Individual counseling, small group counseling, and crisis counseling. The goal of responsive services is to meet the immediate need of the students; these are also considered "traditional" counselor duties. Small group counseling will be led for students according to their needs. A letter and permission slip will be distributed to your child if he/she is chosen to participate in a group. Additionally, individual counseling is done on an "as needed" basis. Please remember that individual counseling is short term (i.e., usually not exceeding six sessions). School counselors are not licensed to diagnose or provide therapy for children. If your child is in need of more intensive mental health services, I will be happy to provide you with appropriate referrals.
- Individual Planning: This includes establishing goals and working toward the future.
- System Support: This involves administration and being supportive and willing to help establish, maintain, and enhance a successful school counseling program.