Woodward Career Academy

At Woodward, the purpose of guidance and counseling is to impact specific skills and learning opportunities in a productive and preventive manner which ensures that all students can achieve school success through academic, career, and personal/social development.

The Guidance Counseling Program Includes 4 Components: 

1. Guidance Curriculum:

The lessons taught in classroom guidance provide a link to defined student competencies. These content standards are based on the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Program. Counselors coordinate and implement delivery of guidance lessons in the areas of self-knowledge, life skills, study skills, test taking skills, problem solving skills, decision-making skills, personal safety, and career planning to facilitate academic achievement.

2. System Support:

The school counselor consults and collaborates with parents, guardians, teachers, and significant others such as school psychologist, special education personnel, school social workers, and medical specialist.  They are also involved with classroom performance and behavior, childhood growth and development, a positive school climate, identification of exceptional children, interpretations of test results, psychological reports and other relevant data and communication between home and school.

3. Individual Student Planning:

School Counselors work with students to monitor, plan, and manage their academic, career and personal social development. School counselors can work on individual student planning with individual students, in small group, in students/parent conferences and workshops.

4. Responsive Services:

School counselors consult with teachers, administrators, parents, and other professional school staff about specific student behaviors. School counselors also respond to counselor referrals. Occasionally, students behave in a manner that may require the school counselor to conduct an immediate counselor session. Remember, responsive services are available to all students but all students may not require these services.

Small Group Instruction:

During small group guidance, the school counselor will work with children on improving study skills, test taking skills, and/or decision-making skills. Small group counseling may address specific needs such as understanding self and interpersonal skills or crises such as divorce or death in a child's life.  Students may participate in these small groups as a result of referrals from parents, teachers or themselves.