Ivette Sherman: Our School Counselor
First, I want to share how excited I am to be your school counselor. It is an honor and a privilege to be able to work with the Sequoyah staff and students.This is my 9th year with MCPS. I was a special ed paraeducator at Redland MS for the first 8 years. I graduated from Univ of MD with a degree in Elementary Education. I received my Master’s in School Counseling from Loyola University, MD. I’ve lived in MCPS for most of my life. I’m an MCPS grad and so are my husband and 4 children. We love MCPS! They range in age from 17 to 28 yrs old, and they all attended Sequoyah, Redland, and Magruder. We have 3 dogs, and when I have free time, I love to cuddle up with them and read a good book. I love to travel and explore new places, especially the history. My favorite thing to do is spend time with family and friends!
The Sequoyah Elementary School Counseling Program's mission is to support the educational, personal, social, and career development of all students. I help Sequoyah students develop the skills and confidence to become effective learners through a guidance program that maintains high expectations and ensures collaboration with other educators, families, and community members. Within a supportive, safe, and caring environment, I encourage children to define and achieve their goals, creatively solve problems and become thriving members of our community. This comprehensive counseling approach helps identify specific challenges our students face and strives to reduce any barriers to learning.
School Counseling Philosophy and Beliefs
As a professional school counselor serving Sequoyah Elementary School, I believe:
- All students can be successful.
- All students' dignity and culture, including race, ethnicity, gender, abilities, disabilities, religion, home language, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation, should be respected and valued.
- School counseling is an essential and integral part of the overall education process.
- All students will have access to a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program run by a masters level, state certified professional school counselor.
- The school counseling program has a goal of being collaborative, proactive, and responsive--for all students.
- Meet together with parents and the classroom teacher to discuss concerns about their child, particularly related to social, behavioral, and emotional issues.
- Provide parents with resources in the community to meet long-term counseling needs for their child and their family.
- Refer parents to resources in the community to support family needs.
- Work with parents and teachers to develop a behavioral plan for a child who is experiencing behavior difficulties in school.
- Meet with a child who was referred to the counselor by themselves, their parents, their teacher, or an administrator.
- Help children express and deal with feelings of grief regarding the death of a family member, friend, or pet.
- Provide a safe, confidential environment for children to talk about a separation or divorce in their family.
- Help children resolve conflicts with peers.
- Include children in small group lesson on a variety of topics.
- Teach guidance lessons in the classroom on a variety of topics.
The following links provide additional family resources:
Montgomery County Services
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/hhs/
InfoMontgomery (Information about private and public Montgomery county resources)
http://www.infomontgomery.org/
Mental Health Information and Services
National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/index.shtml
National Alliance on Mental Health
Anxiety Disorrders Association of America
http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children
Families for Depression Awareness
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Guide to Therapy Groups (Montgomery County)