Counseling

Beaver MST Counselor

Lauren Peterson
Phone: 972-494-8301The Counselor’s Corner by Ms. Peterson

I’m so happy to be back at Beaver MST! I’m returning with one year of school counseling experience and over ten years in education. This past year, I had the opportunity to serve as a counselor at Sewell Elementary, attend various trainings, and grow both personally and professionally. I’m excited to bring everything I’ve learned back to the Beaver community and can’t wait to partner with staff and students for a fantastic year ahead. On a personal note, I got married this past school year (yay!), but I’ll still be going by Mrs. Peterson. When I’m not at school, you can usually find me chasing national parks, passport stamps, and a good vacation!

My School Counseling Philosophy

Counselors help cultivate the following skills:

Elementary school is a crucial time for children to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

communication skills.
decision-making skills
self-regulation skills
team-building skills
a positive self-image
an optimistic outlook for the future
goal-setting
an awareness of their unique gifts, characteristics, and needs
a desire to learn and achieve academically

School Counselors can help students with these skills by:

Creating school-wide classroom guidance lessons that focus on academic, career, and social/emotional skills
Working with small groups of students through “Lunch Bunches” to meet specific needs and practice skills
Assisting students in goal-setting and decision making
Providing responsive services for crisis intervention, conflict resolution, and specific concerns through small group or individual counseling

School Counselors can also help by:

Partnering with parents, teachers, and administrators to ensure every child is growing socially, emotionally, physically, and academically
Reviewing your choice of subject during the registration period (5th graders)
Providing career and college information
Helping with teacher/student relationships
Helping students cope with family issues or other personal issues
Listening to concerns about friend relationships
Providing referrals to people and places in our community that can provide help if necessary

Counselors for each campus are certified by the state of Texas in School Counseling, have a Master's Degree, and previous teaching experience. Each elementary school has a guidance counselor to help ensure that adequate support for helping students to succeed and meet their goals is available.

Visit the district website for more information about the GISD Guidance & Counseling programs.

Bullying

No student should be subjected to bullying or harassment that interferes with their ability to learn or their safety.

Visit the Bullying Prevention and Investigation page on the district website for more information and resources.

Anonymous Alerts®

You can use the Anonymous Alerts® webform or mobile app to quickly, easily and anonymously report bullying, cyberbullying and other sensitive topics to school officials.

Anonymous Alerts® is monitored by GISD Security 24-hours daily and should only be used for serious and urgent matters. In the event of an emergency or life-threatening event, always call 911.

Submit an Anonymous Alert ®

Download the app

To place a report from a mobile device, first download the free Anonymous Alerts® app from the Apple App Store or Google Play store. Then open the app and enter activation code garlandisd.

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