Our Middle School Counseling Department services are designed specifically toward the unique needs of fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Although middle school students are in the process of becoming young adults, in many respects they are still very much children. With this in mind, counselors and staff begin middle school with a thorough orientation program designed to familiarize both students and their parents with the upper school campus, faculty, and curriculum. In addition, the middle school counselor administers and coordinates the following:

• Advising all students regarding scheduling and course selection, explaining graduation requirements, college prep, honors, and Advanced Placement classes, while emphasizing the importance of grade point average
• Parents and student individual conferences
• Administration of individual admissions testing, annual group standardized testing, and the Talent Identification Program in conjunction with Duke University
• Arrangement of consultations with parents and teachers conferences
• Individual students small groups, interventions, and referrals to outside professionals
• Assignment of student support resource classes and teachers
• Coordination of teachers, students, and administrators as advocates
• Service projects and other programs generated outside the counseling office
• Special topic speakers on campus
• Resources to equip and maintain counseling department library books and community resource information
• Awards Day programs for fifth through eighth grades.