Welcome to the North Bend Elementary School Guidance and Counseling web pages. Here you will find information explaining the role of the school counselor, services provided by the counselor, the referral process, a multitude of parenting resources on just about any topic you can imagine; from how to deal with temper tantrums to what to do when your child refuses to go to school, and more. Use the links below to find the information you need to help your child or browse the pages to see what's offered. I hope you find the site helpful.
Meet The Counselor
- Hi, my name is Theresa Mitchell.
- This is my 14th year as a school counselor.
- As is required of all professional school counselors, I hold a master’s degree and have met all state certification requirements.
- I am certified under the National Board of Certified Counselors as a National Certified Counselor.
- Additionally, I am licensed through the State of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
- I am the parent of three children and personally experience the joys, challenges, and anxieties that come with being a parent.
- I maintain an “open-door” policy. I welcome parents’ interest in and questions about the counseling program at NBES. All classroom guidance lessons are available for your preview.
- An integral part of my job is to serve as a resource to parents on parenting, child development and behavior management issues. Please don’t hesitate to call on me if I can be of help to you in regard to your child.
- You can reach me by calling the main office at 410-692-7815 or by e-mail at theresa.mitchell@hcps.org. While I am happy to meet with parents who drop in, I can only guarantee I’ll be in my office if you have an appointment. Otherwise, I’ll be out and about working with the children.
Credentials - What Do They Mean?
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)
HB68 went into effect on October 1, 1998, allowing the Maryland Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors and therapists to grant Maryland State licensure to those persons who 1) hold a Master’s degree with 60 semester hours from a program that reflects the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Curriculum, plus a course in substance abuse counseling, and a supervised field experience; 2) document 2,000 hours of post-master’s clinical experience; and 3) pass the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE). The scope-of-practice allows the diagnosis and treatment of emotional disorders. To maintain licensure, the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor must complete 40 hours of continuing education credit every 2 years.
National Certified Counselor (NCC)
Counselors may elect to become nationally certified by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC), which grants the general practice credential, “National Certified Counselor.” To be certified, a counselor must hold a graduate degree in counseling from a regionally accredited institution, have at least 2 years of supervised field experience in a counseling setting, and pass the NBCC’s National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE). This national certification is distinct from Sate certification. To maintain certification, counselors must take again and pass the NCE or complete 100 hours of acceptable continuing education credit every 5 years.
I Pledge To
I can't take credit for writing this pledge, but I am most sincere in committing myself to these principles in my work with each and every child.
I pledge to:
- Support children by caring about them, bringing out their best qualities, cheering them on, and celebrating who they are and what they do.
- Empower children by valuing them for who they are, listening to them, respecting their opinions, and helping them find ways to carry out their dreams.
- Set clear boundaries for children and hold children accountable when they act inappropriately, while showing them appropriate ways to act.
- Expect children to grow and develop, stretch their abilities, and reach their full potential.
- Advocate and ensure that children have constructive activities – meaningful ways to spend their time no matter where they are.
- Encourage children to have a commitment to learning, find ways to make learning interesting and fun, modeling my love of learning, and tapping into the motivation that each child has within.
- Instill positive values in children, helping them see the importance of caring, equality, social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility, trustworthiness, and respect for themselves and others.
- Teach children social competencies, emphasizing the lifelong skills of decision making, planning, social skills, cultural competence, resistance skills, and peaceful conflict resolution.
What Do School Counselors Do
The American School Counselors Association defines the role of the school counselor as follows:
“School counselors are student advocates who work cooperatively with other individuals and organizations to promote the academic, career, and personal/social development of children and youth. School counselors, as members of the educational team, consult and collaborate with teachers, administrators and families to assist students to be successful. They work on behalf of students and their families to ensure that all school programs facilitate the educational process and offer the opportunity for school success for each student. School counselors are an integral part of all school efforts to ensure a safe learning environment and safeguard the human rights of all members of the school community.
Bullying
Top Ten Facts About Bullying
- Bullying is more than just teasing.
- Anyone can be a bully.
- Anyone can be a victim.
- Bullying isn't a modern problem.
- Bullying affects everyone.
- Bullying is a serious problem.
- We can work together to find solutions.
- A comprehensive plan will produce the best results.
- Children at risk can be helped.
- Schools are responsible for protecting children.
Bullying - What Is It?
"Bullying refers to intentionally and generally unprovoked attempts by one or more individuals to inflict physical hurt and/or psychological distress on one or more victims. There must be an imbalance of physical and psychological power, with the bully actually being stronger or perceived to be stronger than the victim. The bullying may be direct, with face-to-face physical or verbal confrontations, or indirect, with less visible actions such as spreading rumors or social exclusion. Although a single attack on a victim, if severe enough, can be accurately described as bullying, the term more often refers to a series of negative actions that occur frequently over time." Ross, D. Childhood Bullying, Teasing, and Violence: What School Personnel, and Other Professionals and Parents Can Do
Bullying Behaviors
- Ignoring
- Humiliating
- Backstabbing
- Name-Calling*
- Malicious Gossip*
- Slander*
- Lying About Others*
- Glaring
- Blackmailing
- Stealing
- Rejecting Or Intentional Exclusion
- Spreading Rumors*
- Manipulation Of Friendship Relations*
- Making Threats
- Aggressively Threatening: Pushes, Shoves, Kicks, Pulls Hair, Hits, Trips
*Doing so on-line is referred to as cyber bullying.
Bullying Links
Safe Child - An informative site that defines bullying behaviors, how to deal with a bully, what to do if your child is being bullied or if your child is the bully.
Ophelia Project - When the bully uses social relationships as her/his "weapon" it is referred to as relational aggression. Typically this is the way girls most often bully. This site is devoted to relational aggression. If you find this interesting and want to learn more, I highly recommend the book Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons.
K12 Coordinator: Bullying - This site gives signs of possible victimization, short and long term consequences for victims, and significant identifying characteristics of victims; i.e. who's likely to be targeted by a bully.
Family.Go - This site contains useful information for parents and other adults, including articles on helping children learn to face bullies and be kind to one another.
Safe Network - You'll find articles, a message board, and advice from experts on keeping children safe at school and in the community.
Bully Stoppers - Log on this site to report bullying, find state resources, and check out current resources being used by educators.
For Kids - Go To The Following Sites For Help With Bullies
No Bully - This site will help answer your questions; What is bullying? Why do some people bully? Why is bullying harmful? What can you do if you are being bullied? What can you do if you see someone else being bullied?
Kids Health - This is a terrific site for lots of information. Once you get to the homepage, click on For Kids, then click on Dealing with Feelings. You can then scroll down to a who lot of interesting topics. This entire site is safe and wonderful! Feel free to explore topics of interest.
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