Counseling Department Mission Statement

The Sparta Area School District will provide all students an opportunity to participate in a planned comprehensive counseling program.  The primary aim of the Counseling Department is to strive to help each student achieve the maximum development of life goals that are acceptable to self, home, school and community.

Counseling is the personalized part of education which provides the foundation for helping the individual understand and accept self, to recognize personal needs, to assess potentialities and to formulate plans of action based on the foundation.

Counseling is an integral part of meeting the individual needs of each student.  Therefore, the counseling and educational opportunities should be in cooperation with home, school and community so interrelated and articulated that each student will have access to a well-planned, unified program.

Individual Sessions

Teachers, parents, other school staff and students may request for students to see me individually for confidential sessions.  Many of the topics covered are the same as those listed under Developmental Classroom Lessons and small groups.

Small Groups
I meet with students in small groups for a variety of issues including but not limited to:  Friendship, Family changes, Social Skills, Anger Management, Stress and School Success.

Developmental Classroom Lessons
Another component of Cataract Elementary School's comprehensive school counseling program is developmental classroom lessons.  Many topics are covered through these lessons including but not limited to:  Character Education, Friendship, Bullying, Telling vs. Tattling, Feelings, Safety, Problem solving/decision making, Cooperation, Respect, Career Exploration, Consequences of drug/alcohol use, Conflict resolution, Goal setting, Careers and Diversity.

This fall students in the Sparta School District will listen to an assembly presentation on the topic of bullying behaviors.  The students will be reviewing what to do if they are bullied or witness a bullying incident.