High School Guidance Department, Guidance Counselor Services

Elementary Schools:

Quabbin Regional Middle School:

Quabbin Regional High School:

The Quabbin Regional School District guidance and counseling services begin with kindergarten screening and extend through post-high school planning. The services, available to all students, parents/guardians and school staff, are developmental and preventative in focus. QRSD views guidance/counseling services as a vital component in the process of helping all students become healthy and productive life-long learners.

General functions for all Guidance Counselors:

• Act as student advocate
• Monitor academic and behavioral progress
• Participate in teacher assistance and special education meetings as needed
• Participate as member of the students’ regular educational team
• Participate and/or coordinate parent/teacher conferences
• Work with students in groups or individually
• Provide crisis counseling
• Refer students to outside resources when deemed necessary
• Facilitate transition activities between the elementary and middle school and middle and high school
• Serve as consultants to teachers, administrators, parents and outside agencies by providing information regarding meeting students’ academic, emotional and social needs
• Develop, implement and participate in programs dealing with issues pertaining to students’ needs
• Serve on Crisis Intervention Team
• Provide information on a variety of topics through news releases and via requests

Growing up can be difficult. Students face numerous challenges as they pass through the first seven years of school, which can get in the way of learning. Elementary counselors are trained to meet the developmental needs of students and help them as they struggle with life’s challenges. Elementary counselors work closely with administrators, staff, and parents to monitor the emotional, social and academic development of students. Elementary counselors are preventative in focus and work to provide the intervention necessary to assist students through the process of growing and developing into healthy and productive learners.

General Functions:

• Accept and process referrals from administrators, school staff, students, and parents
• Provide individual counseling and support when appropriate
• Provide short-term group counseling for students dealing with emotional, developmental and life-change issues
• Teach specified units of the comprehensive health curriculum
• Mediate conflicts as required
• Organize activities that promote a healthy school environment
• Serve as a consultant on numerous developmental topics and concerns
• Coordinate and facilitate efforts to provide for individual student needs
• Assist in providing career education awareness

Quabbin Regional Middle School includes grades 7 & 8. The primary role of the middle school guidance counselor is to be a student’s advocate during the critical years of early adolescence when one’s emotional, social and physical development is rapidly changing. Guidance counselors are part of the adult support system that helps all children achieve academic success, healthy self-esteem, and sensitivity to the needs of others and the ability to cope with change.

General Functions:

• Participate in team and team leader meetings
• Coordinate progress reports, report to parents, transcripts & report cards
• Assist with scheduling of student classes
• Vocational school liaison: field trips, process applications, set up interviews
• Publish 4 year planning guide to be reviewed with students and parents/guardians prior to scheduling for high school classes
• Classroom presentations
• Register and schedule new students throughout the school year
• Administer interest inventories
• Mediate conflicts
• Provide short term intervention and support for adolescent adjustment issues
• Provide liaison services between students, parents/guardians, teachers and administrators

The Quabbin Regional High School Guidance program assists students in grades 9-12 with academic development, career development, and personal/social development. At this level, students become aware of the world of work by surveying careers, post secondary education, and/or the military. Information on decision making while in high school as well as life after high school is also a priority.

General Functions:

• Assist students with decision making and course selections based on their academic ability, interests and goals
• Review and maintain students’ records and progress
• Register and schedule new students throughout the school year
• Peer Mediation
• Provide short term intervention and support for adolescent adjustment issues
• Classroom presentations
• Interest inventories
• Career Information Center
• Coordinate the college and scholarship application process
• Schedule all military and college representative visits
• Coordinate parent/guardian presentations on the college and financial aid process
• Facilitate the organization and administration of the SAT I & SAT II, PSATs and military testing, the ASVAB
• Disseminate information to students regarding College Board Testing
• Distribute and interpret test results with students

Quabbin Regional High School
800 South Street
Barre, MA 01005
Phone: 978-355-4651
Fax: 978-355-0163