Ms. Alvarado (onsite supervisor) and I are thrilled to continue the longstanding partnership between WMU and WWA to provide counseling services to children and families. Attached you will find our updated 2023 consent form as well as a referral form that any staff member can fill out (paper copies available in the mailbox room). We need a consent on file to provide services to students, and we appreciate your help in sending these home. Please place any completed forms in our mailbox, and we will reach out to parents/guardians to share about the services we provide and answer any questions. 

 

We have six advanced master's level students joining us this spring. We put together a meet the counselors document with their pictures and a little bit about each one. We are completing training this week and will be ready to start seeing students next week. We will offer individual sessions in the mornings, groups during lunch/recess, and individual sessions in the afternoons on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. 

 

We are planning on offering three different groups this spring focused on socials skills, coping strategies, and wellness. Full descriptions of the groups and times offered are attached. If you have students in mind for group counseling, please complete the referral form and send home the consent. 

 

Finally, we wanted to introduce ourselves. Ms. Alvarado and I have worked together over the last year. Ms. Alvarado is a first year doctoral student at Western Michigan University studying Counselor Education, her background is in Psychology (B.A.) and Spanish (B.A) and Mental Health Counseling (M.A.). Her experience will support her in ensuring that counselors-in-training facilitate meaningful connections and lasting impacts on the Washington Writers' Academy students, families and staff. 

 

I have been a faculty member at WMU for 10 years. Prior to that, I worked in Orange County Public Schools in Florida as a special education teacher and later school counselor. I also worked for a number of years at a child advocacy center specializing in providing trauma services to children and youth. I love supervising our WMU counseling students as they develop their counseling skills, and I am grateful to Dr. Morris for entrusting me with the care of students here at WWA. 

 

Please feel free to stop by and say hello and reach out if you have any questions. 

 

Sincerely,

Jen Foster, Ph.D., LMHC (FL)

Associate Professor 

Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology 

Washington Writers' Academy Faculty Supervisor 

fosterjm@kalamazoopublicschools.net 

 

Jasmine Alvarado, M.A.

Counselor Education Doctoral Student 

Washington Writers' Academy Onsite Supervisor