National School Counseling Week (NSCW) is celebrated February 5-9th and focuses on the unique contributions of school counselors and their positive impact on students, providing support and guidance in schools across the U.S. Nate Carentz, LMSW has been the school counselor at The School at Springbrook for a year, and he has been with Springbrook for almost seven. As the school counselor, Nate supports students in achieving Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and counseling goals, which include coping skills, self-esteem, socialization, identifying emotions, identity development, and more. Nate’s favorite part about his job is “watching students grow emotionally and overcome things that once challenged them.”
In July 2023, Nate started a social group for students to meet once a week and learn peer-to-peer social skills, talk about emotions, share what they are thankful for, and build bonds. He has seen significant progress with this group and watched students become more comfortable sharing their past and present experiences with their peers. Thank you, Nate, for all you do to help students achieve goals and learn new skills.