Counseling Guidance - Lakeview Elementary

Kelso (kindergarten through third grade)
Kelso’s Choice Conflict Management for Children is a powerful and timely tool to build a vital life skill for the young people in today’s world. The program philosophy is simple: Each child is smart enough and strong enough to resolve conflict. Developed in 1992 and revised in 2007, the program reflects a proven way to:

Empower young people with the ability to determine their own behavior, encouraging and internal locus of control and appropriate problem ownership. Statements such as “He made me do it!” and “She did it first!” become obsolete as students become accountable for their own choices.
Reduce tattling through a proactive, preventative approach that keeps small problems from escalating and prevents negative attention-getting mechanisms from occurring.
Systematize expectations of student behavior and provide consistency in rules and discipline on a schoolwide basis.
Provide a cognitive structure for discriminating between “small” problems young people can resolve and “big” problems that require adult intervention.
Increase feelings of personal competence as young people successfully resolve conflicts, both within the structured lessons and in their own lives.
Develop an important linkage between home and school as the Kelso’s Choice program is shared with parents.
Give young people an important conflict resolution tool they can use when adults are not available or readily accessible. These situations might include riding bikes around the neighborhood, waiting at the bus stop, or playing games in the far corner of school grounds.

Steps to Respect (third through sixth grade)
The Steps to Respect program is an evidence-based program that takes a whole-school approach to bullying, bringing staff, students, and families into the picture. A schoolwide approach sends a message to students that it's safe to come forward when there is a problem and that adults will take steps to help them. Students learn how to recognize, refuse and report bullying. They also learn important interpersonal skills such as problem-solving, making and keeping friends, and understanding the feelings of others (empathy).