• The mission of Ridgecrest Elementary School's comprehensive school counseling and guidance program is to prepare every student socially, academically, and emotionally for present and future challenges. Students are provided with opportunities to gain an understanding of self and others, to participate in educational and occupational exploration, and to pursue career-planning opportunities in an environment that is safe, caring, and encouraging. The counselors work in collaborative partnerships with students, educators, parents, and community members to empower students to reach their highest level as productive members of society. The comprehensive school counseling and guidance program is an essential integrated component of the total instructional program through which students have maximum opportunity for academic, career, and personal/social development. In this regard, the school counseling and guidance program involves a planned, purposeful, and sequential program of activities that begins in kindergarten and continues through the fifth grade. Ridgecrest Elementary School's counseling and guidance program is data-driven by student needs and provides outcome-based accountability measures that align the school's guidance program with the school's overall academic mission.

    Counselors Work with Students in Four Essential Areas:
    1. Personal Development
    Counselors help students to: gain self-awareness, improve self-esteem, develop attitudes and actions necessary to achieve, make healthy choices and effective decisions, accept responsibility, learn to resolve conflicts and assume responsibility for personal behavior
    2. Educational Development
    Counselors help students to: acquire study and test-taking skills, seek and use educational information, set educational goals, make appropriate educational choices, develop educational plans that relate to their interests, abilities, achievements, and needs
    3. Social Development
    Counselors help students to: develop feelings of adequacy, learn ways to resolve inter-personal relationships, establish sound family relationships, establish effective working relationships with teachers and administrators, respect individual differences and cooperate
    4. Career Development
    Counselors help students to: analyze personal interests, aptitudes, and skills, recognize effects of career stereotyping, form a career identity, be aware of career choices and opportunities, discuss educational standards that meet career goals, plan for their future career