The mission of the Garner-Hayfield Community School District school counseling program is to provide a comprehensive, developmental counseling program addressing the academic, career and personal/social development of all students. School counselors are professional school advocates who provide support to maximize student potential and academic achievement. In partnership with other educators, parents and/or guardians and the community, school counselors facilitate the support system to ensure all students in the Garner-Hayfield Community School District have access to and are prepared with the knowledge and skills to contribute at the highest level as productive members of society.

 Philosophy Statement:

The Garner Hayfield Community School District adheres to the philosophy that the school counseling program is an essential and integral part of the overall education process.  The comprehensive program is built on the assumption that certain educational, career, and personal objectives are attainable when school counseling for all students is provided.  This implementation acknowledges that school counseling is no longer a service to be offered by one person, but a program coordinated with other educators incorporating a comprehensive curriculum.  Growth and learning are developmental; therefore, school counseling must be developmental and sequential. The Garner Hayfield developmental school counseling program, when fully implemented will provide:

• A school counseling program that reaches the needs of 100% of the student population.
• A programmatic approach to school counseling services/programs.
• Accountability for school counseling programs.
• Counselors who devote full time to the program's implementation and who work toward the elimination of inappropriate school counseling tasks.
• Identification and achievement of student competencies and outcomes through the school counseling program.

Belief Statement:

To implement a comprehensive school counseling program at Garner-Hayfield High School, the school counselors in the Garner-Hayfield Community Schools believe:

1. All students have dignity and worth.

2. All students have the right to participate in the school counseling program.

3. All students' ethnic, cultural, racial, sexual differences and special-needs are considered in planning and implementing the school counseling program.

4. All students K-12 shall have access to a full-time, state certified, masters degree level school counselor to deliver the counseling program.

Assumptions:

The Garner-Hayfield comprehensive school counselors and counseling programs should:

1. Be based on specified goals and developmental student competencies for all students grades K-12.

2. Be planned a coordinated by school counseling teams in coordination with other school, parent or guardian and community representatives.

3. Utilize the many combined resources of the community to deliver programs.

4. Use data to drive program development and evaluation.

5. Be evaluated by a counseling supervisor on specified goals and agreed-upon student competencies.

6. Actively involved counseling team members to monitor students' results.