In Today's episode I chat with Bradford Goodridge,an elementary school counselor in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

He discusses his approach to comprehensive school counseling lessons, including his "paws" program that aligns with his school's lion mascot. He shares tips for creating lessons from scratch, integrating school values, and supporting students through self-referral groups.

Some topics covered in this episode are:

• Bradford's background in education and his transition to becoming an elementary school counselor.

• The "paws" program he developed to provide structured, instructional lessons for students to share their thoughts and feelings.

• His process for creating school counseling lessons from scratch, incorporating mandated topics and aligning with his school's core values.

• How he pitches and manages self-referral student groups, using kid-friendly terminology to engage students. 

• The importance of being a visible, supportive resource for both students and parents, and the challenges he faced in a previous disciplinarian role.

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest 

• Youtube

Connect with Bradford: 

• Instagram

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!