Classroom Lessons

Academic achievement has become an educational touchstone since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, requiring all educators - including school counselors - to formally define how their jobs and programs impact students' academic growth and contribute to overall school success. 

School counselors are responsible for designing and implementing programs that target not only college or career preparedness but also overall academic performance and personal development. 

Counselors often help students: 

• • Maintain academic standards and set goals for academic success. 
  • Develop skills to improve organization, study habits, and time management 
  • Create Advisement lessons tailored to academic success, organization and study habits. 

The SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program (SOS) is a universal, school-based depression awareness and suicide prevention program designed for middle-school (ages 11–13) or high-school (ages 13–17) students. 

The goals are to: 

1. Decrease suicide and suicide attempts by increasing student knowledge and adaptive attitudes about depression. 
2. Encourage personal help-seeking and/or help-seeking on behalf of a friend. 
3. Reduce the stigma of mental illness and acknowledge the importance of seeking help or treatment. 
4. Engage parents and school staff as partners in prevention through “gatekeeper” education. 
5. Encourage schools to develop community-based partnerships to support student mental health. 

Both the middle and high school programs provide age-appropriate, educational DVDs for school staff to play for students. The middle school video (Time to ACT) and the high school video (Friends for Life) inform students how to ACT® (Acknowledge, Care and Tell), demonstrate the right and wrong ways to help, and show a student talking with a school counselor.   

In accordance with Senate Bill 401, Gwinnett County Public Schools is using the Teen Lures Prevention Program to educate our students on personal safety. 

The Goal of Teen Lures: 

• To bring about peer to peer conversations regarding sexual crime against teens. 

• Provides an opportunity for middle and high school students to actively participate in prevention efforts. 

The letter attached, was sent home with students which included additional information about the program. 

You may make an appointment with a counselor to preview the material. 

If you have any questions, please call your child's school counselor at 770-232-3200.