The development and delivery of school counseling services within ACES are shaped by the recent evolution from a traditional guidance model to one of student/counselor interaction within the classroom setting or on an individual basis. The following embodies this philosophical approach:

  • All students must receive and will benefit from a comprehensive developmental school counseling approach.
  • Through the appreciation of development stages and individual strengths, all learning can be enhanced.
  • Through the provision and structure of information learning and individual growth are sequential and accommodate individual readiness and flexibility.
  • Comprehensive School Counseling respects the professional team effort/benefits inherent when structured and timely information is presented, in concert with teachers in the class setting, to all students.

Mission of School Counseling

School Counselors presently staff the Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School (WIMS), Thomas Edison Middle School (TEMS), Whitney High School North, and Educational Center for the Arts (ECA). The Department’s basic philosophies embrace the positions stated in The Connecticut Comprehensive School Counseling and Best Practices Model as well as the tenets expressed by the American School Counseling Association. The emphasis in developmental guidance, with regard to implementation within The ACES magnet schools, reflects structure that utilizes individual guidance as well as structured classroom activities and guided classroom experiences. The developmental guidance curriculum provides services according to the belief that “all individuals experience general stages of personal/social growth and that school counseling programs must be structured to anticipate and fulfill the academic, career, and personal/social needs of all students”. In meeting this need at ACES, five major services are provided by our counselors:

The Role of the School Counselor

  • Coordinator – The school counselor integrates resources from school and community to establish a complete network of services for personal/social, academic, and career development.
  • Consultant – The school counselor provides professional expertise to staff, parents, and other community members.
  • Manager – The school counselor plans, implements, and evaluates the systems necessary for the support, maintenance, and improvement of the Comprehensive School Counseling Program.
  • Teacher – The school counselor delivers a planned, sequential school counseling curriculum addressing the developmental needs of all students in the school and community. Every student in grades K-12 is provided, within the school setting, curricula which support academic, career and personal/social development.
  • School Counselor – The school counselor provides a broad range of opportunities for problem solving and skill development to assist the counselee in developing as a total person.