Grafton High School

Community Mental Health Counseling - School counselors provide academic support, mediation, and short term/solution-focused individual counseling.  Should your child require ongoing individual counseling or long-term therapy, please reference this list of Community Mental Health Providers for a sample of counseling services available in the YCSD community and surrounding area.  This list is for general informational purposes only.  Appearance on this list does not constitute an endorsement and descriptions of services from providers is not exhaustive.

Free Counseling - The New Horizons Family Counseling Center provides free services to families of children attending public schools in Gloucester, Hampton, York County, Newport News, Poquoson, New Kent, and Williamsburg/James City County.  Families may be referred to the Clinic by teachers, principals, counselors, school psychologists, or school social workers.  The Center is staffed by advanced counseling graduate students at William & Mary.  Licensed faculty of the School of Education provide supervision for all counselors. Both day and evening services may be available.  Services are provided in Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and York County.  Each session lasts about 55 minutes and the duration of each family’s counseling is decided by the counselor and family together, based on the family’s needs.  Click here to access a referral form.

Bacon Street Substance Use Counseling - Bacon Street Youth and Family Services offers substance-use counseling to help youth and their families develop the skills they need to manage feelings and behaviors without using drugs or alcohol.  Their substance-use counseling services primarily serve those ages 14-26 and their families, addressing the unique developmental realities and special treatment needs of this age group.  

Comfort Zone Camp Grief Support - Comfort Zone Camp (CZC) serves children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, primary care giver, or friend.  All programs are offered at no cost to families.  CZC provides a safe, nurturing  environment where kids can have traditional camp fun, while at the same time acquiring tools to help them cope with their loss.  Click here for more information.  

NAMI Family-to-Family Support - The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers a free, 8-session education program for family, friends, and significant others of those living with a mental health condition.  NAMI Family-to-Family provides information about anxiety, depressive disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions.  Other topics include communication, problem solving, treatment, and recovery.  This course is designed to increase advocacy skills, while helping participants maintain their own well-being.  Participants meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:30 PM.  For more information and to register, contact NAMI Williamsburg at 757-220-8535 or info@namiwilliamsburg.org.   

Military-Connected Parent Support - The Military Child Education Coalition is offering weekly webinars to military-connected families on topics of financial aid and preparing for the empty nest.  Titles include: Preparing to Fly: Leaving the Nest, Understanding Financial Aid for Military Families, and Reflect and Connect: Social Emotional Learning.  

Child Mind Institute - The Child Mind Institute has a wealth of information on a variety of topics intended to help families navigate a child’s health and wellness and social-emotional growth.

Parent Toolkit - The Parent Toolkit offers benchmarks and tips for your child's academic, physical, and social emotional growth specific to your child's grade level.  It is designed to help you track and support progress at each age.

Best Practices for Digital Wellness - Nearly 100% of teens report having access to a smartphone or home computer, and nearly half of teens report that they are online “almost constantly”. Sixty percent of teens report using computers to do their homework every day. Eighty-four percent of young adults report using social media regularly. Teens and young adults are engaged in constant and often simultaneous interaction with the online world alongside their “real life” world. This Digital Wellness guide is designed to support you in empowering your child to maximize the potential benefits of their interactive media and technology use while minimizing the potential harm. 

Teaching Responsibility - The Center for Parenting Education offers helpful tips on the challenging topic of teaching responsibility to children and teens, including:

• Obedience vs. Responsibility
• How Involved Should You Be?
• The Dual Roles of Parents
• How Self-Esteem Leads to Responsibility
• Over-Indulgence and Teaching Responsibility

Click here for more information on how to help your child learn this valuable life skill.

Attendance Matters - Did you know, by 9th grade, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores?

• Missing 10 percent, or about 18 days, of the school year can drastically affect a student’s academic success.
• Students can be chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.
• Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child graduate from college and keep a job.

Make school attendance a priority and make every day count!  Click here for more information on how to help your child succeed in school with the habit of good attendance.