Guidance Counselor Information
Bio:
My name is Hope Johnston, but your child/children know me as Ms. Hope! I am the School Counselor at Mt. Zion Elementary School. I have been the School Counselor at Mt. Zion since 2021. I was born and raised on Hilton Head Island, which in high school is where I met my husband. In college, I studied Criminal Justice and Psychology at Charleston Southern University. Once I graduated CSU, I decided to make a big pivot into School Counseling (thank goodness I did)! While I was getting my Masters in Counselor Education at The Citadel, I nannied for a few families and worked as a Preschool Director for three years. When I am not at school, I enjoy going on walks with my Corgi (Sullie) and my Golden Retriever (Stella), going to spin classes, and playing games with my family and friends! Working with the students at Mt. Zion has been absolutely amazing these last few years. I cannot wait to see what this year holds for us!
What Does a School Counselor Do?
A School Counselor's day varies from day to day and from week to week. As the School Counselor at Mt. Zion, I wear many hats. I teach lessons biweekly in each classroom on different social emotional skills. These can vary based on the month. Each topic is sent out in the Counselor Newsletter monthly, so feel free to check those out in the weekly newsletter sent out by Ms. Mims. I also do small groups during lunch time with students. I have Fall groups and Spring groups. Other hats I wear are 504 Coordinator, Co-Leader of PBIS (Positive Behavior Incentive System), responsive services, individual counseling, plan parenting events (like Book Nook for CD-1st grade), hold attendance meetings, and so much more!
Best Way to Contact Me:
Email is the easiest way to reach me! If you leave a phone number, I can give you a call back when I am back in my office! Hope_Johnston@charleston.k12.
Helpful Resources for Families:
On top of guidance lessons, students also have social emotional learning through Second Step (Secondstep.org). Check out this video to learn more: https://youtu.be/
If you feel your student needs extra mental health support, we do have a therapist who comes in and works with our students through the Department of Mental Health. If you would like to have a referral made, please email me or call me at the school and we can start the referral process.
MUSC Mental Health: (843)792-9888
Mental Health Center/ Mobile Crisis: (843) 414-2350
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Erin's Law:
In 2014, the South Carolina Legislation passed Erin’s Law, as part of the Comprehensive Health Education Act. Districts annually shall provide age-appropriate instruction in sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention to all students in four-year-old kindergarten, where offered, through twelfth grade. The objective of the program is to educate all ages of children about what to do when confronted with abusive behavior such as safe and unsafe touch and other physical and emotional abuse.
Please visit the following resource for further information regarding the curriculum.
https://fightchildabuse.org/
Every video in the various series emphasizes the importance of going to a parent or another trusted adult when confronted with an unsafe situation.