The School Counseling Program at Forester supports the educational, personal, and social development of all students PK - 5th, and is designed to include the following components: Guidance Curriculum, Individual Planning, Responsive Services, and System Support.
Guidance Curriculum
School counselors provide classroom guidance lessons that facilitate student growth and development in the areas of educational, personal, and social development in four curricular content areas: Intrapersonal Effectiveness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Post-Secondary Education and Career Readiness, and Personal Health and Safety
Individual Planning
The individual planning component guides students to plan, monitor, and manage their own educational, personal and social development. Each student is provided with necessary steps toward his/her established goals.Some examples include: 5th grade to middle school transition and individualized behavior charts/plans for students.
Responsive Service
In this component, school counselors intervene with or on behalf of those students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade whose personal circumstances, concerns, or problems are threatening to interfere with or are interfering with their healthy educational, personal, social, career and/or educational development. Some examples include: Individual Counseling and Group Counseling.
System Support
The System Support component describes management activities which assure the delivery of a high quality school counseling program, and service which indirectly benefit students by supporting other programs. Some examples include: New Student Ambassador Committee, Newcomers Club, Angel Tree Program, Thread Referrals, Pillars of Character/Cookies with the Counselor, and Parent Workshops.
Hello! I'm Ms. Garza and I am the Counselor at Forester Elementary. I completed my undergraduate degree at Texas State University and have two graduate degree from A&M University San Antonio. I absolutely love working with kids and will always be their biggest advocate!
I am also Forester Military Liaison
Military Families please contact me for any military related questions.
Grade Levels: Pre-K, Kinder, 2nd, and 4th
Hello! My name is Julie Merrill. I am one of the school counselors at Forester Elementary. I am dedicated to supporting the academic, social-emotional, and career development of every student. I offer a range of services, including classroom guidance lessons, small group counseling, and individual support tailored to meet students’ diverse needs. My goal is to create a safe, loving environment where students feel empowered to overcome challenges, build resilience, and reach their full potential.
This school year I service the Pre-k students as well as all of the Kinder, 2nd grade and 4th grade students.