I am Mrs. Lewis. I have been an elementary school counselor in Barstow since 2017 when I began at Montara Elementary. Prior to school counseling, I worked as a case manager for people with disabilities, helping them find suitable employment. I was a substitute teacher for schools across the High Desert, and a substitute counselor in Apple Valley. I attended Califonia State University, San Bernardino, where I received a bachelors degree in psychology, and a masters in Counseling and Guidance with a Pupil Personnel Services credential. My coping tools are music, painting, sewing, and comedy.

As an elementary counselor, I provide small group counseling, classroom lessons, mediation, and individual supports based on need. By providing education and intervention tools, I help students achieve academic success, develop an understanding of career opportunities, and develop social and emotional skills and build resilience in response to the challenges they face. I am available throughout the year to all students as a support person on campus. When the need for therapeutic counseling comes up, parents are contacted and outside services are recommended.

The elementary years are a time when children begin to develop their academic self-concept and feelings of competence and confidence as learners. They are beginning to develop decision making, communication, and life skills, as well as character values. It is also a time when students develop and acquire attitudes toward school, self, peers, social groups and family. Elementary school counselors are educators uniquely trained in child development, learning strategies, self-management and social skills, who understand and promote success for today's diverse student population. The counselors of Barstow Unified School District are available to work with all students, parents, and staff to promote student success.