If you are experiencing a crisis or mental health emergency, call 911 or utilize the crisis response numbers below. Do not email or text school personnel for urgent or emergency situations.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Call or Text 988 

Crisis Text Line

Text NAMI to 741-741 

Counselor

Please email your counselor for assistance. School Counselors are available to support students with academics, college & career planning and social-emotional concerns during regular school business hours. If you would like information, resources or support with non-emergency mental health, see SVUSD Mental Health Resources.

The purpose of a school counseling program is to promote and enhance the learning process, improve attendance, behavior and academic achievement. La Paz’s school counseling program supports student development in three broad areas: Academic development, Career development, and Social/Emotional development. School counselors support the educational mission of La Paz by assisting students to become effective learners to achieve the high academic expectations established by national, state, and local standards. As a district, we are in the process of aligning our school counseling program with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) model. There are established school counseling standards, just as there are standards for all curricular core areas, which direct our intentional counseling activities.

• Reaches every student
• Is preventative in nature
• Is comprehensive in design
• Monitors student progress
• Uses data to drive intentional counseling activities
• Seeks improvement each year based on results data
• Is implemented by a credentialed school counselor in collaboration with other educators, families, and the community
• Uses the ASCA national standards as the foundation for counseling curriculum

CJSF

CJSF is the middle school version of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) in high school.  Students can join CSF by meeting the academic criteria each semester and applying.  Students who meet the requirements all four years of high school wear a special cord with their graduation gowns.  CJSF is an opportunity for middle school students to get in the habit of saving their report cards and completing applications using the point system after each trimester/semester.  Membership in CJSF is voluntary and is not required for high school membership in CSF.

Membership is not automatic.  Qualified students must reapply each trimester by the advertised deadlines.  La Paz students who qualify and complete an application for two trimesters in 7th grade and the first two trimesters in 8th grade will receive gold seals on their promotion certificates.  Announcements will be made when applications are being accepted.  Applications must be turned in along with a printed copy of the report card by the advertised deadlines. Applications are available in English classrooms and in the front office during the two week application windows.

Students with questions/concerns should see or email their school counselor.

Counseling Activities

Counseling activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Grade level counseling lessons - These classroom presentations are conducted to review Intermediate academic expectations, counselor confidentiality, resources at school, grade point average calculation, High School graduation requirements, college admission requirements, post-High School options, and school success strategies.
• College and Career exploration and planning
• Signs of Suicide Presentation
• Monitor all students for SVUSD Academic Expectations
• Identify and support students struggling to meet SVUSD Academic Expectations - Use data to evaluate for placement in various intervention programs and classes
• Facilitate parent teacher conferences
• Facilitate Student Study Team Meetings (SST)
• Facilitate and coordinate 504 Plan meetings
• Coordinate Intervention Programs
• Conflict Resolution
• Crisis Counseling
• Group Counseling
• Brief Intervention Counseling 
• Mandated reporting - required by law to report suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services
• Referrals to community agencies and outside counseling support
• Assistance League Referrals
• Attend monthly meetings - Leadership, district counseling meetings, staff, professional growth and development, including Trish Hatch ASCA national model training
• Work Permits
• Parent education

Below are two different books/guides for parents and students to utilize when wanting to improve study skills.

• Study Skills Guide (pdf)
• Study Skills Book (pdf)
• Study Skill Book - Espanol (pdf)

Helpful Study Skills Websites:

• CAL POLY SLO Study Skills Library

Are you looking for a tutor?

Brainfuse Free Online Tutoring / Tutoría Āratuita en línea

Free live 1:1 tutoring online.  Visit the Brainfuse Free Online Tutoring / Tutoría Āratuita en línea website.

Khan Academy Science and Math help online

For free short instructional video lessons on every topic imaginable in math and science, as well as practice problems and practice assessments, students can visit the Khan Academy website or click the Khan Academy tile in their Saddleport accounts.

Mission Viejo Library

For free homework help and tutoring, visit the Mission Viejo Library website.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Hotline help

For free help with science or math over the phone, call 1-877-827-5462 Sunday through Thursday from 6-9 pm. Visit Harvey Mudd College Homework Hotline website for more information. All tutors are trained Harvey Mudd College students.

Tutorial

As always, teachers are available during tutorials Tuesday through Friday (on regular schedule days) to answer student questions and provide assistance.

SVUSD Mental Health Resources