Chesterfield County Public Schools mychesterfieldschools.com

Crestwood Elementary School

Home of the Monarchs!
Counseling

Counseling Services

School counseling services are offered through the following systems:

Classroom guidance lessons

The following classroom guidance topics are offered:

  • Friendship
  • Anti-bullying
  • Cooperating
  • Test preparation
  • Internet safety
  • Getting to know your School Counselor
  • Character education (respect, integrity, perseverance, collaboration, and responsibility)

Small group counseling

The following small group topics are offered as staffing and demand dictate:

  • Changing families (children of divorce)
  • ADHD support
  • Study skills
  • Making new friends
  • New student lunch bunch
  • Anxiety support
  • Home alone skills

Individual counseling

Students may refer themselves to the School Counselor, or they can be referred by a parent, teacher, or administrator. During individual counseling sessions, confidentiality is maintained with the exception of instances of imminent harm or danger to a student.

*All classroom guidance and small group resources can be made available to parents.

Our Counselors

Hi my name is Maria Bediako and I am the School Counselor! I grew up here in Chesterfield county and I am happy to call this area my home! I graduated from Liberty University with my M.Ed and School Counseling.  I am excited to be here at Crestwood, where our students prove to be caring, responsible, engaged in their learning and trustworthy. As a counselor, it is my focus everyday to be an advocate and a resource to our students; approaching them them as a whole child with their individual thoughts, feelings, strengths and weakness and so much more. Outside of school, I love to cook, do aerial yoga, visit the Farmers Market,, spend lots of time with my dog, Jonas and travel for new experiences as much as I can.

You can find me at school between 8:30 and 4:30 Monday through Friday.

Feel free to reach out to me at 804-560-2710 x4118 or by email at [email protected].

Portrait of Ms. Bediako
Mr. Lacy in a selfie shot with 5 students

Mr. Brent Lacy, our School Counselor at Crestwood, moved to Richmond in 2009 to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. He graduated in 2011 with a M.Ed. in School Counseling. This is Mr. Lacy’s seventh year at Crestwood Elementary. In addition to being a Professional School Counselor, Mr. Lacy is also a 4th degree Black Belt instructor with the World Tang Soo Do Association. He teaches at Commonwealth Tang Soo Do in Midlothian. His hobbies include cooking, reading, video games, hiking, skateboarding, bike riding, and anything to do with music.

Office Hours: 8:30-4:00,
Monday through Friday
(804) 560-2710
email: [email protected]

Jordan Edens, our itinerant school counselor (only here on Mondays), is new to Chesterfield County Public Schools. She grew up in Chesterfield but moved to Mechanicsville in 6th grade. After graduating from high school, she earned both of her degrees at Virginia Commonwealth University. She completed her Masters of Education in School Counseling degree in 2016.

She spent her first year as a school counselor in Northumberland County Public Schools, about 2 hours away from Chesterfield. She moved back to Chesterfield this year to begin her second year as a school counselor in Chesterfield, where she lives with her husband and two puppies.

Mrs. Edens spends a lot of her free time at a CrossFit gym, where she is both an athlete and a coach in-training. She also enjoys watching TV, playing with her puppies, and spending time at the river with her family.

graduation photo of Ms. Edens

Counseling Programs

The Counseling department at Crestwood coordinates the following programs throughout the year…

  • Safety Patrol: 5th graders helping keep Crestwood safe
  • Green Team: 5th grade recyclers help keep Crestwood clean and green
  • Peaceful Schoolbus: This program works with bus drivers and students to work towards an enjoyable ride to and from school
  • Fall Food Drive: Grade levels compete to see who can collect the most food to donate to the Central Virginia Food Bank
  • Holiday Assistance: The Counselor coordinates families in need with those who can help
  • Career Day: Students learn about exciting opportunities after they finish school

Parent Resources

The following are outside resources available to parents in the county:

1. Prevention Services:

The goal of prevention services is to keep healthy people healthy. Skilled professional staff members provide training, consultation, public speaking and group services to individuals, agencies, schools, churches, businesses, and community groups. Prevention services has considerable expertise in parenting, couples issues, divorce adjustment, and stress management.

Prevention Services
Chesterfield County Mental Health Support Services
P.O. Box 92
Chesterfield, VA 23832
804.768.7800
http://www.chesterfield.gov/parenting/

2. Comfort Zone Camp:

CZC sponsors weekend bereavement camps in Virginia and New York/New Jersey for children from across the country who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or significant loved one.

Comfort Zone Camp
2101-A Westmoreland Street
Richmond, VA 23230
804.377.3430
[email protected]

3. Chesterfield County Public Schools Parent/Teacher Resource Center:

The Parent/Teacher Resource Center is here to assist all CCPS parents and staff in promoting student success. The center sponsors workshops on various topics, provides office and phone consultations, compiles requested information packets on a variety of subjects, and operates a lending library of educational and parenting resources. Much of what the center offers can be found online, including workshop information, lists of tutors, links to community resources, a catalog for the lending library, mand much more.

13900 Hull Street Road
Midlothian, VA 23222
804-639-8699
http://mychesterfieldschools.com/family-and-community-engagement/

4. REACT Children’s Program:

A free, informative support group serving children in grades 1-5 who have witnessed verbal or physical fighting in their homes. Children in this group will learn to handle stress in a positive way and to manage strong emotions by developing effective problem-solving skills and coping strategies.

Mondays
6:30-8:00 PM
6801 Lucy Corr Blvd
Chesterfield, VA 23832
804.768.7800

5. RichmondSummerCamps.org

A FREE resource for parents to find all of the great summer camps in one place. All camp listings are free, so parents can find out about all of the camps regardless of their advertising budgets.

6. Articles:

  1. https://www.edutopia.org/article/reframing-debate-screen-time-beth-holland (Screen time and tech usage).
  2. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

“The results could not be clearer: Teens who spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time than average on nonscreen activities are more likely to be happy.”

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