Forest Edge School Counselors

Forest Edge Elementary School has two licensed professional school counselors: Sarah Zamfir and Tabria Palmer. The job of the professional school counselor is to plan and implement an elementary school counseling program based on the standards developed by Fairfax County Public Schools and the American School Counselor Association.

Ms. Zamfir and Ms. Palmer implement a variety of classroom lessons and run small groups throughout the school year on topics such as bullying and harassment prevention, conflict resolution, anger management, study skills, cooperation, listening, feelings, the middle school transition, and a variety of other topics as needed.

School Psychology Services

School psychologists are mental health specialists with knowledge of child development, the psychology of learning, behavior management and intervention, monitoring the progress of students, and program evaluation. School psychologists apply this knowledge using a problem-solving approach to help bring about positive changes in the learning environment, attitude, and motivation. Services offered by the school psychologist may be provided directly to the student or indirectly by working with teachers, parents, and other caregivers; however, all services provided by the school psychologist are intended to enhance the academic and social-emotional success of students. Minimum requirements to be a school psychologist include a 60-hour master's degree program and a one-year full-time internship; many FCPS school psychologists hold doctoral degrees.

Social Work and Support Services

School social workers focus on family and community factors that influence learning. They provide intensive services for students facing issues that pose risks to their academic success such as parent divorce and separation, poverty, truancy, chronic illness, mental health problems, conduct problems, child abuse, etc.

All FCPS social workers hold a Master of Social Work (MSW) or Master of Social Science (MSS) degree; many have earned a Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) degree. All school social workers are licensed by the Virginia Department of Education. The majority of the staff is clinically licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Social Work (LCSW) or in other jurisdictions and trained to provide mental health services in any setting.