Hello Chelsea Heights students, staff, and families!

My name is Jacob Blum, and I am your School Counselor! This is my fifth year at Chelsea Heights, and my sixth year as a counselor with SPPS.

During my time at Chelsea Heights, I have seen time and time again how strong of a community we have. I could not be more proud to work with such an experienced, knowledgeable, creative, and effective team of teachers and staff members. I'm looking forward to supporting our students and families and making sure all of our students have the academic and social emotional skills they need to succeed!

What is School Counseling?

A School Counselor is a certified/licensed educator that is uniquely qualified to address the developmental needs of all students through a school counseling program. School Counselors focus efforts on addressing the academic growth, social/emotional development, and career awareness of all students through classroom lessons, small group facilitation, and individual counseling sessions. School counselors can also help educate parents and families, and aid in navigating through resources available to our students within the community.

What does School Counseling look like at Chelsea Heights?

Classroom Lessons: I am in every classroom, every week for counseling lessons. These lessons are aligned with the SPPS Core Counseling Curriculum and are designed to meet district learning targets as well as the ever-changing needs of our students. Typical classroom lesson topics include:

• Bully Prevention                                  • College & Career Readiness
• Personal Safety                                   • Conflict Resolution
• Social Emotional Skills                        • Community Building

Small Group Counseling: Small groups are a great way to connect students with similar needs, and are a practical and effective way to build skills. Topics of small groups include: grief & loss, academic support, creating a growth mindset, friendship building, and family change, among many other topics. Students can be referred for small group counseling by families or by classroom teachers. Small groups typically meet for 20-30 minutes/week and run for 6 - 8 weeks.

Individual Counseling Sessions: One-on-One counseling support is available for any student who needs it. Individual counseling topics may include: - --academic concerns, getting along with peers, navigating family change, creating a growth mindset, making positive choices, or other skill-building work. Students seeking individual support can self-refer, or I will also take student referrals from family members or classroom teachers. Please keep in mind that while the individual counseling work I do with students IS confidential, it IS NOT therapy. I take a brief, solution-focused approach to my individual work with students so that they can minimize the time spent outside their classroom learning environment.