Counseling & Support Services

Counseling Services

Counseling Mission Statement

The Counseling Department at Germantown Academy is dedicated to the health and wellbeing of all members of our community. We strive to support, extend, and integrate the mission of the school within the framework of the counseling department and our initiatives. We believe that teaching students how to understand themselves and their relationships enables them to be their best selves today and to grow and flourish in the future. 

We encourage students to view the complexities of life as a challenge they are ready to meet and an opportunity for personal growth. In addition to offering strategic guidance for small groups and individual support for students and families, the mission of our PreK-12 program is to foster foundational social emotional learning skills that allow students to have positive interactions in the classroom, with their peers, their families, and in their adult lives.

The Germantown Academy Counseling Department includes five full-time psychologists and counselors who support students, families, faculty, and staff across Lower, Middle, and Upper School.

Counseling Services

Our work is grounded in a simple belief: students thrive when they feel known, supported, and connected. Through strong relationships and developmentally-responsive care, we help students better understand themselves, navigate challenges, and build the social-emotional skills needed for success in school and beyond.

We partner closely with families and teachers to support the whole child. Our services include prevention, consultation, psychoeducation, intervention, short-term counseling, referrals, and coordination of care when outside support is needed.

Students may seek support for a wide range of concerns, including:

• Friendships and peer relationships
• Stress and anxiety
• Emotional regulation
• Family changes or challenges
• Conflict resolution
• Academic pressure and time management
• Identity development
• Learning differences and school-related concerns

Across all divisions, counselors work closely with students through classroom observation, consultation, individual meetings, and small-group support. We are committed to fostering a school environment where students feel safe asking for help, supported through challenges, and empowered to grow.

Confidentiality & Family Partnership

Learning Support & Accommodations

Germantown Academy recognizes that students learn in different ways and is committed to supporting students with documented learning needs through individualized accommodations and support planning.

Following review of a psychoeducational evaluation, the divisional psychologist or counselor develops a Learning Plan that outlines:

• Student strengths
• Areas of challenge
• Diagnoses, when applicable
• Recommendations
• School-approved accommodations

With parent permission, Learning Plans are shared with teachers to help ensure that students are supported appropriately within the classroom environment.

Depending on a student’s documented needs, school-approved accommodations may include:

• 50% extended time on in-class tests, quizzes, essays, and exams when possible
• Word processing/computer use for testing
• Preferential seating
• Movement breaks
• Access to Learning Ally

Middle and Upper School students are responsible for arranging accommodations with teachers in advance. Please note that school-based accommodations do not automatically apply to standardized testing such as the SAT or ACT.

The GA College Counseling office manages the application process for standardized testing accommodations. For questions related to accommodations for SAT and ACT, please contact Ryan Coffey Keaton at ryan.coffeykeaton@germantownacademy.org.

GA may assist families in requesting accommodations for standardized tests through the College Board or ACT. While we make every effort to support approved testing accommodations, onsite multi-day testing may not always be possible.