Bailey's Elementary Student Services Team

School counselors, a school psychologist, a school social worker, and a school counselor form the Student Services team at Bailey's Elementary. These are highly trained and experienced people. Each discipline has unique skills and training. Together, school social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors provide a stronger team than any single profession could provide on its own. The students, parents, staff, and school benefit from the student services team.

The Bailey’s mental health team is here to support you and your child’s needs. At Bailey’s we use the MTSS (multi-tiered system of support) model, for meeting the social emotional needs of our students.

Our School Social Worker, Kendra Villegas, and School Psychologist, Silvia Stone, provide counseling support and services for students at Tiers 2 and 3. Tier 3 interventions are intensive, evidence-based instruction maximizing intensity, frequency, and duration. Interventions are progress monitored daily. Examples of Tier 3 interventions include FBA/BIP, suicide prevention, threat assessment, or collaboration and consultation with wrap around services for a child. 

In Tier 2 students need additional support beyond core instruction of social emotional learning and academic skills to be successful. Just like a math teacher will implement strategies to support students struggling to understand math concepts, students who struggle with social emotional learning or academic skills benefit from extra support.

Tier 2 can encompass work for a group of students that takes place individually, implementation of a behavior contract, providing Check-in/Check-out, and individual counseling. However all counseling services provided to students by school staff must be to help a student  be successful in the school environment. For counseling needs requiring long-term therapy or of a family nature we are happy to provide information about outside counseling service providers.

Our School Counselors provide counseling lessons to all students and resources for staff to use in their work with the social emotional learning and academic skills for students as part of Tier 1. Schoolwide initiatives also fall into Tier 1 because they provide the structure and expectations for all students. School Counselors also support students in need of Tier 2 support. 

My child is being invited to a counseling group, what does this mean?

Our Mental Health program at Bailey’s Elementary offers small group counseling for our students. Small groups provide not only the opportunity for additional learning experiences, but also a time for sharing and a time of growing together with fellow students. Small groups give the students a chance to belong, a chance to express themselves, and a chance to benefit from the support of group members.

An invitation to a counseling group is not an indication that your child needs therapy, has severe behavior concerns or is in “trouble.” Small group counseling helps students who might need support with friendship skills, academic skills (listening, paying attention, etc.), emotional regulation, working with others, building self-confidence or a variety of other topics.

Group counseling schedules are worked out with the classroom teacher, so that students do not miss instruction. Counseling groups are a fun experience where students might use puppets, Legos, art materials, toys, playdough, board games, or other materials to make the learning fun and for students to feel comfortable. Often during the last few sessions of a counseling group, students’ express feelings of sadness that they will no longer be a part of the group.

If you have questions about why your child is being invited to a counseling group, please feel free to reach out to the mental health professional at our school who is leading the group- this information should be in the notification letter or email you receive prior to a counseling group starting.

Bailey’s Mental Health Team

Sara Crummett          Silvia Stone                Kendra Villegas

School Counselor      School Psychologist  School Social Worker

Will my child be pulled from a core curriculum subject to receive individual or group counseling? 

Typically no. We work with your child’s teacher(s) to determine the best time to pull your child and try to use the intervention time as a time to meet with your child. If your child requires an academic intervention or we are unable to pull your child during the intervention block, or due to working with other students during that time, we work to find the best time that will cause the least disruption to your child’s academic learning by planning with your child’s teacher(s).

Is counseling support provided to my child documented in my child’s cumulative file?

No. Counselors only keep personal files if necessary and this information does not go into a student’s cumulative file. 

Is counseling available to all students?

Counseling services are available for all students, but all students may not require tier II or tier III interventions of group counseling or individual counseling. Our school counselors provide social emotional lessons for all students once a month in Kindergarten- 2nd grade. 

If I say “yes” to my child participating in individual or group counseling, is this a year long commitment?

Typically no. School based counseling services for students who require group or individual counseling typically lasts six weeks. 

Can I get support from the mental health team for finding counseling support for my child outside of the school environment?

Yes, we are happy to provide you with a list of local counselors and counseling centers that are available to provide your child/family with counseling services; however, you might first consider working with your insurance company to find a provider covered by your insurance plan. 

Do teachers gossip about my child or does my child have a bad reputation if they are recommended for school counseling services?

Teachers may ask for help from colleagues or in a team setting if there are academic or behavior concerns, but educators want to help students meet their full potential and gossiping about students is neither helpful nor professional. 

What kind of data is used to determine a student might benefit from group or individual counseling?

Members of our school’s mental health team look at a variety of data from progress reports/report cards, goals on a student’s IEP, office referrals, parent input, teacher input, and students advocating for themselves that they are in need of help. 

If my child participates in a counseling group, will data be collected?

Typically yes, but only to provide feedback for the group moderator on what students learned and liked about the group to improve future offerings of the group. Mental health professionals may use pre and post group assessments that students, teachers, and/or parents complete to guide the goals of the group and to also check understanding of the topics/frequency of students using skills taught. Progress reports/report cards, goals on a student’s IEP, and office referral data is also examined to monitor how students may have benefited from a counseling intervention. 

Confidentiality is key for mental health professionals and student specific information is not shared with outside individuals unless a parent/guardian has provided permission in writing for specific information to be shared with specific individuals.