Building the foundation for emotional well-being

During National School Counseling Week, Dallas ISD recognizes educators who support students’ academic success while nurturing their social emotional well-being. At Frank Guzick Elementary School, counselor Elizabeth Reed-Smith is creating a student-centered program that helps young learners understand their emotions and build confidence.

After nearly 20 years in the classroom, first as a teacher and then as a librarian, Reed-Smith is now in her first year as a school counselor. As a veteran educator, she brings both experience and a modern perspective to the profession.

“My success this year is because of a strong and encouraging school community,” she said. “Having a supportive principal that trusts you to lead the school’s program has really helped me.”

Throughout her career, Reed-Smith has always aspired to become a school counselor. She achieved this lifelong goal after earning her Master of Education in Counseling and Development from Lamar University, with a specialization in professional school counseling.

As a former librarian with a love for reading, Reed-Smith incorporates literacy into her counseling approach. She uses books as a tool to teach social emotional concepts, such as kindness, to help students connect stories to real life experiences.

Guzick Elementary serves a population that is approximately 60% Hispanic and 40% African American. With this diversity in mind, Reed-Smith is committed to supporting students in both English and Spanish.

“I meet with students in small groups each week, and although I’m a native English speaker, I don’t leave my Spanish speaking students out,” Reed-Smith said. “I always write a script and speak Spanish with them. I have Spanish only in small groups, and then I have my English only in small groups, and they both go over the same things. I want all students to have an equal opportunity to learn.”

Her goal for the school’s counseling program is to reach all students and support them in learning how to express their feelings in healthy ways. As a kindergarten counselor, she works with students who are just beginning to navigate a wide range of emotions, providing resources and activities that help them understand their feelings and how to respond to them.

Reed-Smith collaborates closely with teachers, using classroom observations and feedback to shape her counseling program, which helps guide small group activities designed to support social and emotional development.

Her role begins when students step through the school doors, often carrying big emotions from experiences at home, including the broader political climate, Reed-Smith said. She checks in with students daily, teaching coping, regulation, and self-expression skills to those who need additional support.

One of the strategies Reed-Smith uses is a sensory activity called “calming bottles.” During the activity, students fill a plastic water bottle with clear glue and glitter. When they feel frustrated or upset, they shake the bottle and watch the glitter slowly settle at the bottom, practicing deep breathing until the glitter becomes still.

“We work on breathing through things, taking a moment and knowing you know what you need,” Reed-Smith said. “I teach them this because these are the skills that stay with them into adulthood. Those feelings don’t go away, and we still have to regulate our emotions as adults.”

In addition to the social emotional learning component for younger students, the counseling program at Frank Guzick Elementary School introduces students to future pathways in college, career and the military. Each week, Reed-Smith shares a video with the entire campus that highlights a different college and what it has to offer.

“I write a script for each video that I make and read it in both English and Spanish during our school’s digital announcements,” she said. “We even highlight a teacher who attended that college. I call them our ‘famous alumni.’”

For Reed-Smith, this impact is most visible when students choose to wear college shirts on College Wednesdays, simply sparked by a new dream of attending a school they’ve just learned about.

“I feel like the seed has been planted, which is exactly what I wanted to do,” Reed-Smith said. “It will continue to grow throughout the years.”