Hello West Springfield Elementary! We are your Mental Health & Wellness team (aka your Family Support team). That includes our two counselors, school social worker, and school psychologist. We are so excited to get to know all of you and work with you this year. As a team we are here to support our school, staff, and families. Please feel free to reach out to us if there’s anything we can do to support you. Go Mustangs!

As school counselors, we are here to deliver classroom lessons, small groups, one on one counseling and club activities that support the needs of all students. We collaborate with our teams, administration and parents to support our  students development of the whole self, including a healthy balance of academic, mental, social/ emotional and physical well-being.

We have a Student Ambassador program to welcome new students, We are currently developing our Mentor Program both within the school and our local community. 

School social workers:

• Serve as liaison between home, school, and community
• Link students and families to community resources to address issues such as poverty, chronic absenteeism, trauma, and child abuse
• Provide individual and group counseling to students
• Participate in student-centered meetings to address academic, mental health, and behavioral needs
• Provide crisis interventions to include conducting suicide risk assessments and threat assessments

School psychologists provide:

• Counseling: Psychologists implement evidenced-based techniques and curricula to foster social skills, address mental health concerns, and enhance self regulation skills.
• Assessment: Psychologists explore students' strengths and areas of need to aid school teams in identifying educational needs and generating interventions. This may take the form of:
  • Individualized classroom interventions
  • Psychological evaluation and assessments used to assist in determining special education or Section 504 eligibility.
  • Functional Behavior Analysis & Behavior Intervention Plans
  • Crisis Assessments
• Consultation: Psychologists collaborate with families, teachers, counselors, administrators, community agencies, private providers, and others to develop a well-rounded understanding of and approach to the student's social, emotional, and academic needs.

Caroline Miller

My name is Caroline Miller, and I am the Military and Family Life Counselor (MFLC) at West Springfield Elementary School. I am Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Virginia, and this is my first year at WSES. I am very excited to be a part of WSES and to serve the school's military students and families!

As an MFLC, I provide free, non-medical counseling to military individuals, groups, and families in person during the school week to enhance social, academic, and emotional skills to support the wellbeing of military students and their families. I am trained to address issues related to:  

• Self-esteem 
• Communication and relationships at home or school 
• Life skills 
• Adjustment and transition 
• Behavioral concerns 
• Changes at home (including deployment, reunion, and divorce) 
• Fear, grief, and loss 

All services are confidential except in cases of duty to warn situations such as safety issues and illegal activities. Feel free to contact me for support, resources, or to introduce yourself. I look forward to working with you!

Phone:  202-725-7018

Email:  @email

Our West Springfield family liaison, Andrea Howard, serves as a link between our families and our school. She facilitates family-school communication, which empowers families to become more active partners in their children’s education.

Ms. Howard works in our school and community to help families get the information and assistance they need to support their children at home and ensure their academic success. She represents a variety of cultures, languages, and races and is one component in our school’s effort to enhance family involvement.

Ms. Howard is available Tuesday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and can be reached at 703-912-4409 or @email. To assist families who speak other languages, Ms. Howard speaks Spanish.

Family liaisons are school staff members who are knowledgeable about school curricula, child development, family dynamics, district wide programs, services, resources and community resources. Family liaisons support all families and school staff by helping:

• Facilitate communication
• Build relationships
• Make families feel welcome, trusted and valued
• Provide FCPS and human service’s resources and information
• Encourage parent engagement in their children’s education
• Connect parents to what their children are learning
• Promote understanding of families’ cultural diversity

Families May Contact Family Liaisons For:

• Assistance setting up a meeting
• Attendance at a meeting
• Help completing forms
• Help getting an interpreter
• An opportunity just to talk with someone about concerns