We wanted to take this time to give our new and returning families some details about our counseling department. We would like to start off with an introduction to our ISDenver counseling team!

• Jennifer Peters is in her first year at ISDenver and is the behaviorist in the ECE. She has a B.S in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood, and a M.A in School Counseling. She is a career educator who has been a homeroom teacher, coach, and school counselor for grades K-8. Prior to returning to Colorado and joining ISDenver, she had the opportunity to work in the international settings of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Egypt. She is excited to return to Denver and be a part of the ISDenver family! Jennifer can be reached at jennifer.peters@isdenver.org
   
• Nancy Loseke will be returning to our Lower Primary and working with grades 1st-4th. Nancy spent eight of the last ten years teaching at international schools in Peru, Kuwait, Poland, and Mongolia. Besides her counseling background, Nancy also has an extensive background in Special Education, having worked with students from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Nancy enjoys spending time with family and friends, binge watching series on Netflix, and cooking. Nancy is passionate about traveling and looks forward to being able to explore another part of the world in the near future. Nancy can be reached at nancy.loseke@isdenver.org
   
• Annie Barocas is in her fourth year at ISDenver and is serving as the Director of Counseling as well as the Counselor for grades 5th-8th. Annie’s educational background includes international travel programs for teens, college guidance, and curriculum development for gifted and talented. When not at school, Annie is usually running a race, watching college hockey, or planning her next family vacation. She is currently finishing her certification in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Studies and looks forward to continuing to incorporate these practices into the counseling curriculum. Annie can be reached at annie.barocas@isdenver.org

As our counseling department grows, we are also bringing in new programming:

• Many of you in ECE and Lower Primary were fortunate enough to be introduced to Kelso’s Choice. Jennifer and Nancy will continue to bring this great resource into your children’s classrooms this year and help them develop the tools for healthy conflict management.
• We are also introducing Second Step, a research based elementary counseling program that incorporates International and state counseling competencies.
• We will continue to incorporate our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) curriculum both through Middle School advisory and grade appropriate lessons with fourth and fifth graders. 

Our last exciting addition will be the start of affinity groups for our students. The hope is to give our students safe places to discuss personal topics. The affinity groups we will start in October include a group for students who joined their family through adoption, a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) group, and a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)  group. We want to make sure we support every student who is part of our ISDenver community. 

We look forward to the 2021-2022 school year getting to know you all better. If you have questions about the general counseling department, please contact the Director of Counseling, Annie Barocas at annie.barocas@isdenver.org