School Counseling

"At its core, Montessori education is about preparing the whole child for life. What does this entail in today’s world? It means empowering children with a foundation of wellness practices that can help them build resilience by boosting their physical, emotional, and mental health."

- Barbara Murphy, PhD
"Where Montessori Meets Wellness" as published in Montessori Life

CMP School Counseling Mission Statement: California Montessori Project school counselors will provide a comprehensive and developmental school counseling program addressing the academic, career, and social/emotional needs of all students. School counselors will empower students to maximize their personal potential and academic achievement.

To meet the social, emotional, and mental health needs of our students, CMP currently offers a comprehensive school counseling program at all school sites. The school counseling program encompasses academic, career, and social-emotional learning, and provides guidance to students and families in these areas. CMP school counselors provide proactive lessons to all students across the network on social, emotional, and career/academic topics. Additionally, classroom teachers teach a weekly lesson on a social or emotional skill, using a curriculum called Second Step. Topics that are addressed in this curriculum include: growth mindset & goal setting, emotion management, empathy & kindness, problem-solving skills, and bullying prevention. For more information on Second Step curriculum, please visit Second Step's website.

School counselors work closely with teachers, administrators, families, and community members to help students on their journey as life-long learners. Short-term individual counseling sessions and short-term group counseling sessions may be provided to students with social or emotional struggles that affect the student's learning. If you are concerned about your child's social-emotional well-being at school, please reach out to your child's teacher to discuss your concerns.

CMP bases its School Counseling Program closely on the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) model school counseling program. If you are interested in learning more about CMP's school counseling program, please reach out to the respective counselor at your school site. To view the CMP School Counseling Program Handbook, please click here for the handbook.

School counselors are eligible providers of behavioral health services through the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI). For more information about the CYBHI program, please visit the CMP’s CYBHI page.

If you would like to report a safety concern such as bullying, concerns of harm to self or others, or threats, please call your school's front office or report using this form.