Hello! My name is Stephanie Schleicher and I am your School Counselor! This is my 8th year at Eastford Elementary and I am very excited for the 2026-2027 school year! School Counselors work to help students feel safe, happy and comfortable, while succeeding socially, emotionally and academically. I am committed 100% to the success of all my students! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns this year!

What does a School Counselor do? 

School Counselors perform a variety of tasks throughout the school day and work with all students. They may provide direct services for the student that may include individual, small group and crisis counseling, classroom lessons, mediations, and individual career and college planning. Counselors also provide indirect services on behalf of the student that may include collaborating with other educational staff, consulting with outside resources, attending team meetings and PPT’s as well as making referrals to necessary programs.

Role of A School Counselor (ASCA)

  •  Counseling Services: 
     
    Individual Counseling: Students who are having difficulty at school or home may see the school counselor to discuss these issues. During individual counseling sessions the goal is to provide students with a safe and comfortable place where they can discuss the issues that are bothering them. The school counselor will work on helping the student to develop skills that will help them to cope with the situation and develop skills that will help the student make positive changes in their life. This is meant to be short-term solution focused counseling or check-ins. 
     
    ***Appointments will be required. Students may e-mail Mrs. Schleicher from their school device to set up a mutually convenient time to meet or a student may ask a teacher to contact Mrs. Schleicher on their behalf. Of course in cases of emergency, appointments are not necessary!***

    Group Counseling: Groups may be run in the area of divorce/separation, social skills, study skills, peer issues, depression/anxiety. Students who wish to join a group will be given permission slips that must be signed by their parent/guardian in order to participate. Groups usually run for 6 weeks and are meant to help give students the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings around issues that they have in common with other students in a safe and nurturing environment.

    Crisis Counseling: In the event that crisis counseling was needed for a student, Mrs. Schleicher would provide counseling for the student.

    Needs Assessments: All students are administered a needs assessment early on in the school year. This allows the school counselor to assess what students social-emotional needs and is used to guide individual time with the counselor as well as what groups need to be done during the course of the year.

    Individual Student Meetings:

    At times individual meetings with the student and school counselor become necessary. This may be due to personal, academic or social issues. The school counselor may schedule these meetings, or the student may wish to schedule them on their own.

    Personal – Students having personal issues regarding things that may be happening at school or outside of school, may see the school counselor. If the issue requires immediate attention, the counselor will see the student right away. Otherwise the counselor will schedule a time that works for both the student and counselor to address the issue.

    Academics – Mrs. Schleicher may meet with students individually each trimester, who have failing or borderline failing grades. The student fills out a self reflection sheet that allows the counselor to see what the student may be having difficulty with, or what the student may think the problem is. Together we discuss the student’s grades and come up with a plan of action. 

    Social – At times students may be struggling to get along with one another in the classroom. The school counselor may meet with these students to try to resolve the conflict.