Bridgeport Public Schools

Mission Statement

The goal of the School Counseling Department in Bridgeport is to assist all students toward success academically, personally/socially, and vocationally through a Comprehensive School Counseling Program.

Beliefs

• All students are developing as they learn to make informed, responsible, and honest decisions.
• All students will acquire and utilize the essential skills and knowledge they need to serve as independent and productive members of society.
  
  

Role of the School Counselor

What do School Counselors do?

• Work directly with students and work on students’ behalf through collaboration with parents, other school professionals, and community members.
• Address students’ academic and emotional needs and design approaches to help students chart a course for their lives and careers beyond school.
• Provide academic, personal, social, career and college counseling.
• Provide counseling interventions designed to support student growth and the achievement of goals.
• Provide counseling dealing with self-image and self-esteem, peer relationships, social skills, coping strategies, and conflict resolution.
• Provide crisis intervention services and make appropriate referrals.
• Assist students and their parents in planning for a transition to the next grade or school and in course selection at the higher grades.
• Provide consultation and communication with parents/guardians to support students’ academic and social success.
• Assist parents/guardians in helping families support students’ growth.
• Provide advocacy for students.
• Provide consultation to school staff.

Counselors accomplish their work with students through:

• Direct services to students individually, in groups, and in the classroom setting.
• Individual student planning and goal-setting.
• Group skill building activities.
• Class instruction based on the developmental school counseling curriculum.
• Preventative and responsive interventions.
• Consultation with parents, school, and community.