Abington SD counselors outline anxiety, bullying and conflict-resolution supports in virtual parent seminar

Abington School District student services hosted a virtual parent seminar for elementary families focused on emotional support, anxiety, bullying and conflict resolution. Student services supervisor Joe Taliaferro opened the session and said the presentation would be posted to the district’s student services website after the event.

The district’s elementary counselors described how school-based supports differ from clinical therapy, what signs of anxiety staff watch for, how the district responds to bullying and how families can reinforce skills at home. The presenters emphasized short-term, school-based interventions, referral to outside services when needed, and proactive programming to build an anti-bullying school culture.

“We will post this presentation for you, on the student services website once we’re complete,” said Joe Taliaferro, noting this was the second of three virtual parent seminars planned for the year and that the session would run about 30–45 minutes.

Why it matters: Counselors said early identification and consistent home–school communication let staff support students in class and reduce disruption to learning. The seminar outlined specific classroom lessons, brief interventions such as check-in/check-out, and restorative conversations intended to repair relationships after conflicts.

Counselors’ roles and classroom work
Anadia Elvidge, a counselor at Roslyn Elementary, said school counselors are professional educators who “support students through comprehensive school counseling programs” that focus on academic, social, emotional and career development even at the elementary level. She stressed that counselors provide solution-focused, brief interventions in school and refer to outside therapists when longer-term clinical treatment is needed.

Elvidge and her colleague Lynn Dacke, a counselor at Bridal Elementary, described grade-level instruction and interventions: kindergarten lessons emphasize basic coping and impulse control; early elementary grades build emotional regulation and calming strategies; mid-elementary lessons introduce conflict-resolution skills; and fifth-grade work focuses on preparing students for middle school. Counselors said the district uses classroom curricula the staff develop alongside programs such as Second Step and the evidence-based RethinkEd materials.

Identifying and responding to anxiety
Elvidge outlined common signs that staff monitor, including increased irritability, somatic complaints (frequent stomachaches or headaches), sleep disturbance, withdrawal and difficulty concentrating. She said brief, targeted school interventions often restore classroom functioning in several weeks, and staff will involve social workers or outside providers when symptoms persist or significantly impair daily functioning.

“Sometimes as parents we just think our children are maybe just avoiding work,” Elvidge said, but added that prolonged fear, worry or avoidance that affects school or home life may indicate an anxiety condition and warrants further support.

Bullying, reporting and prevention
Dacke described bullying as intentional, repeated harm with an imbalance of power and said district policy includes administrative procedures for responding to bullying reports. She explained that responses range from proactive classroom lessons that teach prosocial cooperation to reactive restorative conversations that bring students together to describe harms, share perspectives and negotiate reparative steps.

Both counselors pointed parents to an anonymous reporting form hosted on each school’s website and on the district site; Taliaferro said schools are expected to keep that link active and that parents should contact their school counselor if they cannot find it online.

Restorative practices and daily supports
Counselors detailed restorative conversations and peer mediation as tools used after incidents, and described check-in/check-out and calm-down corners as day-to-day supports. They also noted the district’s schoolwide PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) expectations and building-based anti-bullying committees that discuss trends and student leadership opportunities.

Teaching children to be upstanders
In response to parent questions, the presenters explained “upstander” behavior: using one’s voice to intervene, support a peer or tell an adult when seeing unkind or harmful actions. The counselors said the district introduces the difference between a one-time mean act, a conflict and repeated bullying as early as first grade and reinforces upstander behaviors with incentives, assemblies and classroom recognition programs.

Home–school partnership and resources
Presenters urged parents to share information about changes at home so school staff can provide consistent support in class. They recommended routine-building (bedtime and morning schedules), using books or stories to discuss emotions, and practicing the same language used at school for trusted adults and coping strategies. The counselors said a list of recommended children’s books and other resources would be posted alongside the recording of the webinar.

What the district said it will do next
Taliaferro and the counselors said the recording and supplemental resources would be posted to the district’s student services page within days to a week. Parents who raised questions in the webinar were invited to use the Q&A feature or contact their school counselor directly for follow-up.

Less critical details: Presenters named two social workers—Rose Walsh and Brooke Jacobs—who help coordinate referrals to outside services and act as liaisons between school buildings and community providers. The seminar was the second of three virtual parent sessions the district planned this year.