Services at Del Mar Middle School
- Individual counseling: Counseling services, through the Reed District psychologists is available to Del Mar students on an as-needed basis. This is most often arranged on a check-in or short-term basis. Middle school students often seek out counseling of their own volition, and while an on-going counseling relationship will not be undertaken without parent permission, students are allowed to self-refer on a check-in basis so that they can successfully cope with issues as they come up. Students may be supported by the school psychologists when they are experiencing academic and/or motivational difficulties. Long term or family counseling is not provided at school, but the school psychologists are happy to work with parents to make a referral to an outside provider in cases where student and family needs go beyond what the school can provide.
- Support groups: The RUSD school psychologists may run support groups for students at Del Mar, depending on need and time available. The most common goal of these groups has been to support students who are having a difficult time behaviorally or socially, though there have been groups in the past that have focused on academic skills, coping with divorce, and grief, among other things. Groups usually contain three to six participants, and are student-centered, in that the participants often guide the discussion towards issues of concern, with the psychologist present to facilitate the conversation. Groups can be either single-sex or mixed gender, and are held for approximately 35-40 minutes once a week, for about 10 weeks. Efforts are made to schedule group during advisory, or on alternating periods each week to attempt to limit interference with academic work. Most students greatly enjoy the opportunity to participate in groups and ask if they can continue by the end of the 10 weeks.
- Educational assessment: As noted on the educational assessment page of this site, when students continue to struggle academically despite varied interventions in the classroom and despite extra support from school specialists, eligibility for Special Education services may be considered. Depending on the presenting issues, sometimes more limited, targeted assessment may be offered.