Counseling
Williams Counselor's Corner
Ms. McCay begins her eleventh year in education and her fourth year as counselor for our campus. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology with a minor in Counseling from the University of North Texas and a Master of Arts Degree in School Counseling from The University of Texas at Tyler. She taught at the elementary level for seven years and is thrilled to be here at Williams.
As a counselor, Ms. McCay works with the students, staff, and families to provide a comprehensive counseling program that aligns with Williams values and supports students socially, emotionally, and academically.
Williams counseling mission and vision
Mission Statement
As with the Williams mission, it is my mission to ensure student success and growth through high-quality guidance instruction, meaningful group and individual experiences, a positive learning environment, and relationship building that will inspire and empower life-long learners.
Vision Statement
My vision for our students is that they will be empowered with the tools and resources to achieve academic and social-emotional success in school and in their life in the future through a well-balanced counseling program. As Williams says, “every child, every time, as if they were your own.”
To stay up to date on Ms. McCay’s Mission, Vision, Goals, important information and more, please visit her Virtual Office and Counseling Update Page English or Spanish.
Guidance Lessons
Guidance lessons are taught throughout the year to help teach students important life skills that may include…
- Counselor Orientation
- Suicide Prevention (You Matter/Mental Health Safety)
- Drug Education and Prevention
- Bullying/Cyberbullying Prevention
- Violence Prevention (conflict resolution)
- College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR)
- Social Emotional Learning Support with teachers
- As well as other topics based off of the Campus Needs Assessment (Please fill out the form if you have not done so already)
Individual Counseling and Small Group Lessons
Small group, individual, and crisis counseling are also available for students in need. Counseling topics may include:
- Anxiety
- Grief
- Problem Solving
- Self-Confidence
- Lack of Motivation
- Anger Management
- Personal Struggles (i.e. parental divorce, loss of a loved one-including pets, and family dilemmas)
Your counselor is someone you and your student will want to know. If you would like your child to talk to Ms. McCay, please submit the online Parent Referral or have students submit a Referral themselves.
Have you heard of Social Emotional Learning?
Here in Garland and at Williams, we promote Social Emotional Learning daily to help students start each day ready for success. We use our Three Signature Practices to help students work on their social and emotional well-being daily. Our Williams practices are…
- Welcoming Ritual: Greeting each student at the door with a special Greeting or gesture
- Engaging Practice: Using Turn and Talk and Brain Breaks to keep students engaged in learning
- Optimistic Closure: Students share one thing they learned or a positive reflection at the end of the lesson or their day
Williams was honored this past spring to receive the Bronze Social Emotional Learning School of Excellence Award from the Districts SEL Award Committee.
Visit the district website for more information about the GISD Guidance & Counseling programs.
Social Emotional Learning:
Welcoming Rituals!
Here at Williams Elementary we use SEL or Social Emotional Learning strategies to help our students learn and grow. We start with our three signature practices: a door greeting as our Welcoming Ritual, turn and talk with a partner throughout the day as our Engaging Practice, and sharing something positive from the day or something we learned as our Optimistic Closure. Here are some examples of our classes and their Welcoming Rituals! It is so fun to get to see students come into school to give their teacher a handshake, hug, fist bump, or even to do a little dance together. The students love it.
Social Emotional Learning:
Lessons, Engaging Practices, and Optimistic Closures!
Every Monday morning after our school-wide SEL announcement, our teachers start off the students week with an SEL or Social Emotional Learning lesson that teaches valuable skills such as Responsibility, Conflict Resolution, Empathy, Self-Management, and more. These lessons often times include our Engaging Practice of turn and talk as well as an Optimistic Closure to start the week on a positive note! Some examples of the lessons and these two signature practices can be seen in the pictures below.
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.
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.