Welcome to our School Counselors' page! We are so excited to get to know our amazing bison students and families. We are committed to providing a comprehensive school counseling program to address students' emotional, social, academic, and career needs. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us. 

Mission Statement:

The Buffalo Trail Elementary School Counseling program provides a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate curriculum focusing on the academic, career, and socio-emotional needs of all students. Our program promotes respect and equity and gives access to all students in our diverse community as we strive to create effective life-long learners and productive citizens. Students will succeed to their highest potential when strong partnerships exist between school and home in our learning community.

 Vision Statement:

Our School Counseling department strives to inspire all our students to become critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and lifelong learners. We are instrumental in removing academic and personal barriers to achievement.  We recognize that our students will succeed if we equip them with the tools necessary to thrive in a diverse, global world of work.  We will support our students with academic, personal, and career tools for them to achieve success. 

 Our Beliefs Statement:

Our School Counseling program is based upon the following beliefs:

·         All students in grades K-5 will receive quality classroom lessons throughout the school year that are aligned with the American School Counselor Association’s Mindsets and Behaviors and the Virginia Standards for School Counseling Programs.

·         School counselors collaborate with Buffalo Trail’s stakeholders, including our parents, administration, faculty, and community members to support all of our students.

Buffalo Trail Elementary School’s Unified Mental Health Team (UMHT) – comprised of school counselors, psychologist, and social worker – offers mental health services and supports to enhance student social, emotional, and behavioral growth. This team of school-based mental health professionals works with students, families, school staff, and outside providers to promote a positive school environment that supports student success and ability to cope with challenges through direct (e.g., classroom curriculum, group counseling and individual counseling) and indirect (e.g., collaborating or consulting with staff, families or communities) methods. 

Our fantastic school social worker and school psychologist are also part of our mental health team. Our school social worker is Dr. Charriez (Grace.Charriez@lpcs.org) and our school psychologist is Mrs. Green (Kaelyn.green@lcps.org). The grade level school counselor is the first point of contact for initial student concerns. The school counselors will collaborate and plan for supports with other school-based mental health team members (i.e., school psychologist, school social worker, student assistance specialist), as appropriate. 

SchooLinks is a modern, college and career readiness platform to prepare students for what comes after graduation. SchooLinks helps students discover their interests and strengths, explore colleges and careers, and create an individualized career and academic plan that best reflects their post-secondary goals. SchooLinks at Loudoun County Public Schools is accessible in Kindergarten through 12th grade by students and their parents. SchooLinks features are incredibly user-friendly and were designed to streamline the college and career readiness workflow for counselors and staff.

This platform is designed to meet the needs of our students as they make meaningful contributions to the world!

What Students and Families Can Do

• Access to K-5 platform with college and career exploration lessons and activities

• Portfolio building capabilities for K-12th grade students

• Access career interest, strength and mindset surveys

• Explore 2-year and 4-year colleges as well as take virtual reality college campus tours

• Search for scholarships and learn about financial aid

• Explore traditional, emerging and military career fields and internship/volunteer opportunities

• Create digital portfolios and resumes

• Build ACP and ACPP

• Communicate with counselors

• School business partnership portal

 LCPS School Counselors are currently undergoing training in SchooLinks, and while they learn more about the platform, we ask that questions about SchooLinks be directed to: SchooLinkshelp@LCPS.org.