As the school counselor, I am not just here for the students. I am a tool and resource for all of you, to help you through any challenges or hardships you may face with your student. I want to celebrate the good and help you through the bad!

Sometimes, life just happens. It can throw us a curveball that we are not sure how to handle. As needs arise, please feel free to contact me. By letting me know what a student is going through, I can better provide the appropriate resources the student needs here at school. Sometimes, an encouraging word or an extra ear to listen is all a student needs to feel better about a situation. But, sometimes, more intense and involved situations might need some of our outside resources, to help you and your student work through situations. Either way, I am a support and resource for you.

I want to help you provide the best possible resources for your student that we have available. We can work together to esablish a plan for your student or discuss alternative options, to get your student through life's struggles and hardships.

Together, we can work through your student's needs!

We are fortunate to be able to provide a variety of services for our students.

1. Riverbend Counseling: A counselor from Riverbend comes to our school and meets with students one-on-one, to address needs with individual students.

2. The Healing Place: A counselor from the Healing Place, a grief counseling center in Muscle Shoals, comes in and meets with students who have been affected by the deaths of loved ones.

3. Safeplace: Safeplace comes in and presents information to students on various topics that are relevant to students today.

4. Sydney's Safe: We are proud to receive and provide resources from Sydney's Safe, for students and families in need of extra food support throughout the school year.

On campus, as the counselor, I provide services to our students in several ways.

1. Individual Counseling: As the counselor, I offer individual counseling sessions to students as needed. In some cases, I may meet with students one or two times, as issues and situations arise they need to work through. In other cases, I meet with students one to two times a week, keeping up with progress and improvement of situations students are facing, addressing needs and issues in the comfort zone of the school.

2. Classroom Guidance: I go into each classroom and present information to classes about academics, personal and social skills, and careers. I also address substance use, relationships with family and friends, and making good choices.

3. Group Counseling: As needed, I will offer group counseling for students with similar situations to discuss their feelings and work through situations together.

Laura Peden

Cherokee Elementary School

1305 North Pike

Cherokee, Alabama 35616

Phone: 256-359-6422

Fax: 256-359-6426

E-mail: lpeden@colbert.k12.al.us

The Cherokee Elementary counseling program will support our students and help them become life-long learners, through academic, educational, career, personal, and social endeavors, in a safe and nurturing environment.