Counselor 

Hi! My name is Julie Koehn and I'm the counselor at Redbird Elementary. I have had the pleasure of working here at Redbird since 1996. I’d like to tell you about my services here at Redbird.  

I see students in basically three ways:

1) I go into classrooms and every other month and do lessons on various subjects such as anger management, listening, goal setting, decision making, peer pressure, handling bullies, friendship skills and much more.

2) I conduct groups for helping students handle life situations. Students may be experiencing difficulties at school or home and they may not be performing well. They may benefit from a group experience being able to talk to the counselor and other students who have similar difficulties.

3) There are times I see students one on one as well. This is not in-depth counseling, but can be a bridge to help a student with individual concerns. The student may then be referred to a group setting here or the counselor may talk to the parent about seeking outside counseling, if the problem is continuing to affect the student and family. I have a list of outside resources for the parents, if they don’t know where to turn.

If you have recently had something you believe may cause your child to have difficulties in school or you just want to make me aware of a situation, you may contact me and we can determine what action might benefit your child. If you are not sure whether or not you should contact me, feel free to call and just talk about it and we can go from there. You may leave me a message on my voice mail. I am the only one retrieving those messages, so they are confidential. My number is (480) 472-1211.

Other information:

Mesa Public Schools is very lucky to have a Parent University. They offer classes each semester and that list is sent home with each student twice a year. If you didn't receive one you can take a look at the classes offered by going to the Parent University part of this web site. Take a look at them and consider taking one of them. The teachers as well as myself have taken many of the courses offered. Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world and kids do not come with an owner's manual telling you exactly what to do. Please know that these classes are there for everyone. There are scholarships available if cost is a deterrent. The number to call to get a scholarship is (480) 472-0373. They do not want money to be a block in taking these classes.

Another excellent web site for parenting information is loveandlogic.com The parenting expert is Jim Fay along with his son Charles Fay. They do not have classes available through Parent University, but the website offers practical ways to handle situations. He gives specific examples telling parents exactly what to say in many circumstances. There are books, videos, and tapes to buy as well. Charles Fay was raised using the methods and he is a living example that it works.