School Counseling

About RAS Counseling Dept

The Ralph Askins School Counseling Department is lead by our school counselor, Mrs. Jennifer Hale-Walker.  Jennifer is starting her seventh year as the school counselor at RAS. Mrs. Jennifer has a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture with concentrations in Agriculture Education and Communications and a master’s degree in Educational Psychology with a concentration in School Counseling, both from Tennessee Tech University.  She is a certified PreK-12 school counselor. Mrs. Jennifer is the South Central Elementary School Counselor Coach, a position through the Tennessee Department of Education. She serves as RAS’s 504 coordinator. She is also a member of the American School Counselor Association.

The Ralph Askins School Counseling Department is dedicated to developing and delivering a comprehensive school counseling program that addresses academic, career, and social and emotional development.  K-4 grade students attend bi-weekly lessons with the counselor during the related arts rotation. The school counseling curriculum includes topics such as safety, friendship/bullying, careers, and character traits.

The RAS Counseling Department helps meet students’ physical, academic, and emotional needs.  Physically the counselor can help with weekend feeding programs, services for students identifying as homeless, and help with hygiene product, clothing, and school supply distribution.  Academically, the counselor can recommend additional resources like tutoring, organizational skills, and other classroom focused activities. Emotionally, the school counselor is able to help students with short-term solution focused counseling or give families community resources to receive more intensive counseling services.