Home > Richard H. O’Rourke Middle School > Counseling Center

Counseling Center

O’Rourke Middle School Counseling Center Mission

The mission of the O’Rourke Middle School Counseling Center is to work cooperatively with students, school personnel, parents, and the community to help students make desirable educational, personal, and social decisions.
Read more about the role of the Middle School Counselor.

Contact Our Counseling Staff

All Counseling Center staff can be reached by calling Michelle Turnbull at 518-399-9141, ext. 84040.

School Counselors

Social Workers

School Psychologist

Students and staff also rely on Naviance to help with school counseling and planning.

Counseling Center Newsletters

Counseling Newsletter Fall 2023

Mobile Crisis Contacts

For emergency evaluation (or call 911)

  • Schenectady County | 518-292-5499
  • Saratoga County | 518-741-6100

Outside Referrals for Therapists/Counseling

  • Chelsea Place Psychological Services | 518-982-1886
  • Karner Psychological |  518-456-5056
  • Northeast Child and Family | 518-381-8911
  • Northern Rivers | 518-426-2600
  • Saratoga Center for the Family | 518-587-8008

Parents and School Counselors…Partners Helping Kids

As students progress from one grade to the next, their counselor moves with them, providing continuity and time to really get to know students and their parents. They take a holistic approach to making sure each student has a positive experience at O’Rourke Middle School and that they are well-prepared for successfully meeting the challenges of the future.

The president of the New York State Counselors’ Association states the following: “School counselors play an instrumental role in shaping students for success – not just academically, but socially, behaviorally, and emotionally as well.” For instance, they:

  • Help students deal with and diffuse problems brought into school from home and outside the classroom
  • Act as consultants to teachers and serve as sources of institutional knowledge for administrators;
  • Provide academic and career guidance to students, and help them meet and overcome emotional- and mental- health challenges
  • Establish and promote supportive learning environments
  • Develop academic and behavioral intervention programs
  • Foster and maintain parental involvement

At O’Rourke Middle School, the school counselor focuses on helping students balance the demands of school, family and friends. Special attention is paid to teaching “life skills” such as organization, study skills, time management, responsibility, cooperation, teamwork and other habits and attitudes that will serve students well in any classroom, job or social situation. Counselors are available as resources to parents and caregivers as students navigate their way through the middle years of their education.