The Stanbridge Counseling Department
Stanbridge Academy has two, full-time, licensed MFT counselors on staff (see below) who teach social learning classes, offer short-term individual therapy, and collaborate with teachers and parents to address the social and emotional needs of our students. Working with families to ensure consistent messaging between home and school, our counselors are a consistent presence throughout the school day, frequently visiting classrooms, monitoring the recess yard, and often acting as chaperones on day trips and overnight experientials. Our counselors also consult with outside professionals and provide referrals.
Student Behavior Goals and Emote Support
Through our student-centered program, Stanbridge makes every student feel like a star—a philosophy that is directly reflected in our Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) of Social; Team; Academics; Responsibility (STAR). Stanbridge seeks to make each and every student a STAR—a student who is socially competent, who understands teamwork, who challenges him/herself academically, and who assumes greater responsibility throughout his or her years at the school. These key attributes of the program ensure that students thrive at Stanbridge and are prepared for future success outside the classroom, and in their lives beyond the school. Teachers, with the support of the counseling staff and the speech and language pathologist, use this positive schoolwide behavior support system in all grade divisions by using STAR Sheets—a personalized form that students bring to each class that lists expected behaviors and personal goals.
At the end of each class period, the teacher awards points on the sheet when a student's goals are met, and when an established threshold of points has been collected, a student receives a reward. Rewards for meeting STAR Sheet goals in grades K–8 involve purchasing items at the "Stanbridge Store" (a token reward system using "Stanbucks"), while high school students can opt to receive gift cards from vendors such as Amazon or iTunes.
Language influenced by Leah M. Kuyper’s Zones of Regulation and concepts derived from Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking help students self-monitor their emotions and behavior. Teachers help students individualize their STAR Sheet goals and provide positive reinforcements (points, tangible rewards) for expected behaviors. Teachers recognize when students are not ready to learn and encourage them to use the strategies to self-regulate and/or seek emotional support. Emotional supports include meeting with a counselor, logging a student's perceived emotional state on Emote (a secure, online, schoolwide system), and scheduling meetings or creating individualized support plans as needed. For more information on how Social Thinking and Zones of Regulation are incorporated into our program, visit the Speech & Language page of our website.
Student Behavior Goals and Emote Support
Through our student-centered program, Stanbridge makes every student feel like a star—a philosophy that is directly reflected in our Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) of Social; Team; Academics; Responsibility (STAR). Stanbridge seeks to make each and every student a STAR—a student who is socially competent, who understands teamwork, who challenges him/herself academically, and who assumes greater responsibility throughout his or her years at the school. These key attributes of the program ensure that students thrive at Stanbridge and are prepared for future success outside the classroom, and in their lives beyond the school. Teachers, with the support of the counseling staff and the speech and language pathologist, use this positive schoolwide behavior support system in all grade divisions by using STAR Sheets—a personalized form that students bring to each class that lists expected behaviors and personal goals.
At the end of each class period, the teacher awards points on the sheet when a student's goals are met, and when an established threshold of points has been collected, a student receives a reward. Rewards for meeting STAR Sheet goals in grades K–8 involve purchasing items at the "Stanbridge Store" (a token reward system using "Stanbucks"), while high school students can opt to receive gift cards from vendors such as Amazon or iTunes.
Language influenced by Leah M. Kuyper’s Zones of Regulation and concepts derived from Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking help students self-monitor their emotions and behavior. Teachers help students individualize their STAR Sheet goals and provide positive reinforcements (points, tangible rewards) for expected behaviors. Teachers recognize when students are not ready to learn and encourage them to use the strategies to self-regulate and/or seek emotional support. Emotional supports include meeting with a counselor, logging a student's perceived emotional state on Emote (a secure, online, schoolwide system), and scheduling meetings or creating individualized support plans as needed. For more information on how Social Thinking and Zones of Regulation are incorporated into our program, visit the Speech & Language page of our website.
Our counseling team
Mary Stadler, MA, MFT
Director of Counseling Mary has been with Stanbridge Academy since 2004 as a substitute teacher, a junior high teacher, as a wellness and pragmatics teacher, and since 2008, as counselor. Mary graduated from Santa Clara University with a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2005. Prior to this, she was a counseling intern at a Santa Clara County mental health clinic that specialized in serving people with intellectual disabilities and their families, a population she also served for many years at HOPE Services in San José. Mary’s first career was in teaching high school and junior high at schools in the Chicago area and in Santa Clara. Mary has advanced training in crisis management and trauma and recovery interventions. She assists with admissions, discipline, monitoring the schoolwide behavior plan, pragmatics planning and delivery, and one-on-one counseling. She also consults with teachers about classroom management, student well being, and other concerns. |
James H Warren, MS, MFT
Counselor James has more than 15 years of experience in the field of counseling. A graduate of San Francisco State University, James first earned a BA in Psychology. During his time at SF State, James was privileged to work in the SFSU Child Study Center as a pre-school teacher. After graduation, James spent four years working with dually-diagnosed adults in the San Francisco mental health system. James next earned a Masters of Science in Counseling with a dual major in Marriage and Family Therapy and Rehabilitation Counseling. After graduation he worked in the field of substance abuse as a counselor and health educator, gaining hours for licensure as an MFT. He came to Stanbridge to gain his 500 required child/family hours and has been here ever since. He utilizes strength based interventions drawing from narrative, cognitive behavioral, humanistic and social learning theories. At Stanbridge, James has been facilitating a high school "Guy’s Group" for several years. He also worked with fellow counselor Mary Stadler to pioneer the schoolwide pragmatics program and currently co-teaches weekly pragmatics classes at all levels. James is also leading the Junior and Senior STAR Teams, which include students who aspire to be role models and make Stanbridge and our community a better place. |
