Counseling at Keystone
As a community dedicated to high achievement and student well-being, Keystone offers a strong counseling program.
How we support students
As a community dedicated to high achievement and student well-being, Keystone offers a strong counseling program. We have two counselors: one for students in grades PK-3 through 4, and one for students in grades 5-12.
Each counselor leads activities designed to help students manage academic and personal challenges, and is available to meet with students individually. With parental consent, our counselors partner with a family’s mental health professionals to best help a young person in need of support.
Mission & Vision
The mission of the Keystone School Counseling Department is to provide all students with equal access to a collaborative, comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program that addresses the academic, social, and emotional development of all Keystone learners and is responsive to community needs.
The school counseling department will continuously work to foster relationships among students, staff, families, and community members to ensure students experience a school climate that is supportive of their needs and inspires empathy, perseverance, and acceptance.
Through school wide activities, classroom instruction, small group, and individual counseling, students will be empowered to become resilient, confident, lifelong learners who contribute their unique gifts to our ever-changing world.
- We believe students flourish in environments where they are seen, understood, and valued.
- We believe all students should have access to a comprehensive school counseling program that is driven by data and continuously evaluated.
- We believe school counseling is most effective when it is a collaborative process among counselors, students, families, faculty/staff, and other community members.
- We believe in open, honest, frequent communication.
Meet Our Counselors
Emma Russell
Little/Lower School Counselor
Chanel Williams
Middle/Upper School Counselor
We tackle important conversations about friendship, managing conflict and emotions, and confidence, among so many others. I hope to send them off to the Middle and Upper schools with a firm foundation built on resilience, compassion, and a strong sense of self.”
In my role, I assist our student population in four main ways: individually, through classroom lessons, in our Wellness Council, and in a Wellness class specifically designed for 9th graders. Programs are structured as follows: middle school students engage in classroom-based activities; a segment of upper school students participate in the Wellness Council; and all 9th graders participate in Wellness Class. The Wellness Council is comprised of upperclass students who serve as mental health advocates, and our Wellness class serves as a support system for 9th graders. Participating upperclass students co-lead groups with class Advisors, focusing on emotional problem solving and digital citizenship.
Through these four formats, I aim to empower students to navigate challenges, develop resilience, cultivate self-awareness, and foster a sense of well-being."
Some of our wellness activities



Suggested reading from our counselors
- Listening to my Body by Gabi Garcia
- Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere by Kira Willey
- What Should Danny Do? or What Should Darla Do? by Adir Levy
- Taste Your Words by Bonnie Clark and Todd Bright
- Even Superheroes Have Bad Days by Shelly Becker
- Bubble Gum Brain by Julia Cook
- The Whatifs by Emily Kilgore
- The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryso
- How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
- Raising Mentally Strong Kids: How to Combine the Power of Neuroscience with Love and Logic to Grow Confident, Kind, Responsible, and Resilient Children and Young Adults by Daniel G. Amen, M.D and Jim Fay
- Teaching Your Children Well by Madeline Levine, PhD
- Middle School Makeover by Michelle Icard
- The Conscious Parent by Shefali Tsabary, PhD
- The Big Disconnect by Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD
- Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic-and What We Can Do About It by Jennifer Breheny Wallace