Sarasota School of Arts + Sciences

Counselor’s Corner

Welcome to the SSA + S Counselor’s Corner Website! The school counselors at SSA+S are here to help with all parent and student needs, to ensure students are in the appropriate classes, and to help students meet their academic and personal/social goals.  We also provide individual and in group counsuling when needed and help prepare students for the future. 

On this website you will find helpful links for parents and students, as well as school information and updates. There are also links to Sarasota County high schools, information on college preparation, and much, much more! Check out the site frequently for new and exciting updates!

SSA+S School Counselors:

Mike Mapes: mikemapes@ssas.org, ext. 1452

Gloria Masoud; masoudg@ssas.org, ext.  1465

Mental Health Management:

SSA+S is dedicated to helping students manage mental health challenges. We currently contract with three mental health counselors who manage most of our caseload referrals. In addition, we also partner with theYouth Prevention Services (YPS) who take our referrals and meet with students regarding mental health management. Mental health counseling takes place on our campus during school hours. In order for your child to receive these services, there is a return process in place at SSA+S. Other services we provide are individual school counseling, group counseling, and character deveopment lessons that are implemented thorughout the school year.

For any questions about this, pleaes contact Mr. Mapes: mikemapes@ssas.org or Mrs. Masoud at: masoudg@ssas.org. 

Stress Management (at school or at home):

Feeling stress is a normal human emotion, as it can push us out of our comfort zones and assist us in achieving goals. However, stress can also cause issues in our mental and physical health if it’s too high, especially for long periods of time. Here are some things that you can do to manage your stress levels from home:

• Rate yourself: It’s good to keep track of your stress levels on a day to day basis. Detemine what your “normal” stress level is on a scale of 1-10. An average student should be somewhere from 3-6. Once you know that you can determine when you are at an elevated level. If you’re between 7-10, for example, you now know you’re more stressed than usual.
• Have good coping strategies to help you: Stress can be managed by using healthy coping strategies, or things you do to help bring down and regulate your stress levels with positive results. Some good examples are physical activies like running, biking, swimming, or playing sports. Other good examples are artistic activities like drawing, listening to music, journaling, and painting. This website has more examples: https://www.verywellfamily.com/coping-skills-for-kids-4586871
• Make sure you are talking to an adult: With any kind of stress, it’s always good to be in communication with an adult, like a parent. It’s always harder to manage stress alone.
• Make an appointment with your school counselor: You can contact Mr. Mapes at mikemapes@ssas.organd figure out the next step.

Mental Helth Info and Tips from Sarasota County:

Student Services / Family Resources (sarasotacountyschools.net)

SSA+S Academy Information:

Students who have applied to an academy for the 21-22 school year will receive notification by the end of this school year whether they have been accepted or not. If you gain acceptace into the academy you applied for, it may give you priority into certain classes. Your academy contacts are

STEM Academies: Mr. Mapes (mikemapes@ssas.org)

Cambridge AICE: Mrs. Gannon (gannonk@ssas.org)

Arts Academies: Mr. Mapes/Mrs. Masoud (masoudg@ssas.org) 

504 Management:

504 updates will still occur by using video (Zoom) or conference call methods. Please contact Mike Mapes or Mrs. Masoud for any questions regarding your childs 504 plan at mikemapes@ssas.org or masoudg@ssas.org. 

Referral for Special Needs:

If you believe your child is experiencing difficulties academically or behaviorally, you should contact the Team Leader to express your concerns.

6th grade team co-leader: Sarah Hubbard

7th grade team leader: Rani Wright

8th grade team leader: Elizabeth Shannon

If you feel your child could benefit from a possible 504 (or has a current 504 and needs updating) or other Exceptional Student Education (ESE) services due to ADHD/ADD or other reasons, please contact the school counselor.  Parents/ guardians must submit this request in writing and include an email address or phone number and time that would be best to contact you.  Once your request is received, the school counselor will contact you in a timely manner and explain the process we follow at SSA+S to address your child’s needs.

1. Parent puts request in writing to school counselor.
2. The school counselor will :
   • Respond to parent and document phone call or leaving a message.
   • Send a written summary of contact home.
   • Inquire from teachers via team meeting if they are noticing any issues with the student at school
     • If teachers note issues with academics and/or behavior, then intervention strategies will be  developed, parent teacher meeting will be scheduled, and attempts at resolving academic/behavioral concerns will be addressed.
     • If concerns cannot be addressed in this manner and concerns still persist, then student will be placed on the agenda for the school wide support team (SWST).
     • If teachers do not note concerns with academics and/or behavior, then the parent is contacted again in writing with teacher feedback provided. 

Teens Against Bullying

Teens Against Bullying Web site is an interactive, unique educational resource for bullying prevention designed to engage, empower and educate all teens. There are creative solutions that all teens can use to educate or help each other raise awareness in their in bullying situations. http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/

High School Planning

High school applications typically don’t open up until late November. 

Below you will find a link to the high school planning packet that was given to the students in January. Please contact the school counselor for more information regarding high school planning.

High School Planning Packet

Parent Resources