Hello Peacock Middle School and Itasca 10 community! My name is Mrs. Stephanie Ott, and I am the new school counselor for Peacock Middle School. I am so excited to be part of the Peacock community working with grades 6-8. I have heard such wonderful things about the school as well as the community. I feel extremely lucky to be part of it!
I have an undeniable passion for school counseling and always knew this was my dream job. I received my Bachelors degree in Human Services, and worked for several years in mental health and addictions counseling. As a part of that position, I was able to go into middle and high schools and counsel students as well as do group work. I fell in love with the school environment, and decided to return to school to complete my teaching licensure and my first Masters degree in education and teaching. During the Covid quarantine, I went back to graduate school to pursue my school counselor certification in order to combine my two passions: counseling and teaching. My most recent experience has been working for the DuPage County ROE during which I was able to collaborate some with Itasca School District 10. As soon as I saw the opening for a school counselor at Peacock, I jumped at the opportunity having been so impressed with the professionalism and passion of Itasca 10 during the previous school year.
As Peacock’s school counselor I will assist students in reaching their academic and social/emotional goals. I will meet with students 1:1 and would like to begin some counseling groups at Peacock this year. I will push into classes occasionally to teach lessons, always with the goal of helping students navigate through their own self-discovery. What I love most about middle school is the incredible amount of growth that occurs during these three years. Students gain insight into who they are as individuals- their interests, their values, and their dreams and plans for the future. It is important to me that I work closely as a team with parents/guardians, teachers, administration, and staff to ensure your student is receiving all the support they need to guide them through these years. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. I look forward to working with you and getting to know your students throughout the school year!