Please allow me to introduce myself and explain my role at James River. My name is Amber Freeman, and I am the newly appointed school counselor at James River Day School. I am so excited to be in this role--especially since I am the first counselor in James River’s history.
I am a Lynchburg native, who graduated from Rustburg High School and went on to the University of Virginia, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in cognitive science and psychology. After college, I worked at Sandusky Elementary as a school-based mental health counselor, while pursuing my M.Ed. in school counseling and an M.B.A. (both from the University of Lynchburg). Once receiving my masters degrees, I became a school counselor and worked at multiple schools around the country. Now back in my hometown, I bring with me years of experience as a counselor. I am excited to use this breadth of knowledge to benefit our community and as a resource for you, your student(s), and our teachers and administration.
My role at James River includes the following:
- Provide individual counseling to students. For example, if a student were referred for exhibiting poor emotional regulation, the counselor would speak with the student about specific events that trigger their response and provide coping strategies the student could implement in the future.
- Deliver classroom guidance lessons, which include academic, career development, social, and emotional topics.
- Facilitate group counseling to small groups of students on specific topics such as friendship, coping skills, goal setting, etc. (Due to COVID-19, groups will be extremely limited and provided only on an as needed basis)
- Support existing school-wide programs such as Character Counts and Cardinal Buddies.
- Serve as a support and advisor to faculty and staff.
With the uncertainty due to the coronavirus, I know many of you are feeling anxious about sending your student(s) to school. Your student(s) may be feeling overwhelmed and anxious as well. To help relieve some of these feelings, I have attached a list of helpful tips and strategies to help parents and children deal with anxiety in times of crisis.
Again, I am truly excited about this new role, and I look forward to meeting you and your student soon. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Sincerely,
Amber P. Freeman
School Counselor