WAVA Counselor is Making a Difference – Students Succeed and Grow at WAVA with Counselor Support

As a counselor, you may never know the long-lasting impact you may have on your students. Take for instance, a student who, during her 8th grade year everything began to feel overwhelming. Her grades dropped, she stopped talking to friends and every morning, she found a new reason to avoid school. I received a referral from her English teacher who had noticed that she was struggling and knew that this wasn’t at all how she had been performing. While meeting with her, the teacher mentioned to her that she didn’t seem like herself and asked her if she had spoken with her counselor.  The student said no and thought that counselors were for students with serious problems. The teacher made a referral, and I made contact with the student. After a couple of sessions with her, she shared that her parents were separating, that she was caring for a younger brother, and that she felt guilty because she could no longer concentrate on schoolwork. I helped her create a manageable schedule, helped her advocate for herself with her teachers for some extra time on assignments and encouraged her to use breathing exercises for moments that her anxiety became too strong. Most importantly, I reminded her that struggling did not mean she was weak.  

She slowly began to change. Her grades improved, but that wasn’t the only difference. She started asking for help before problems became overwhelming. She joined the art club and began spending time with friends again. She told me that she thought that I had fixed her problems, but actually she said I helped her believe she could face them. I let her know that she was the one that did the hard work. I had only provided her the space to see her path. Later in the year, she mentioned that she wanted to become a counselor and leave the door open for students who need support. As counselors, we need to reassure our students that sometimes asking for help is how we keep problems from becoming bigger.  

Regards,

Aurora Flores
School Counselor, Washington Virtual Academies
Middle School Counselor (A-L)