Mission Statement

Every student will excel academically, socially, and emotionally and will be ready to create a thriving future for themselves and their community. 

Vision Statement

• Deliver a comprehensive program that focuses on providing a safe and welcoming environment for all students.  
• Support exploration of their social and emotional learning to cultivate academic success.  
• Prepare students to be confident, responsive, reflective, innovative, and engaged citizens.  
• Welcome family and community engagement in whole student support.  

Philosophy

The Counselors at Parkside Middle School believe:

• All students have the right to a comprehensive school counseling program that is developmentally appropriate and supportive of their academic, personal, social, and career goals.
• All students can learn and when supported by a student - focused learning environment can achieve optimal success.
• Learning requires the active participation, engagement, mutual respect and individual accountability of students, teachers, staff, parents and the community together.
• Learning is a lifelong process that is either positively or negatively affected by one's own mindset, and that a positive mindset can be learned.

The School Counseling Program at Parkside Middle School will:

• Ensure that all students have access to a safe, nurturing, student- centered environment into which a growth mindset philosophy is integrated, promoting optimal success and achievement.
• Be preventative in nature, incorporating research based practices, strategies and techniques.
• Utilize data to identify student needs in the creation of school counseling program and school wide goals that will address specific developmental competencies, and be reviewed at least annually review to ensure such goals are met.
• Base its Guidance Curriculum and activities upon the Prince William County Guidance Curriculum and the ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors standards of student success to meet the academic, personal, social, and career goals of all students and to close identified achievement gaps.

All School Counselors at Parkside Middle School will:

• Advocate for the needs and success of all students while promoting the development of self-advocacy skills within all students.
• Adhere to the ASCA Ethical Standards.
• Continually assess program goals and the needs of our school community to ensure that the goals of the school and of the school counseling program are being met.
• Collaborate with families, teachers, staff and community to assist in meeting the developmental needs of all students.
• Participate in the continuation of our professional learning through ongoing professional development activities.