Student Support
At Ravenscroft, our students’ physical, psychological and emotional well-being is as important as their intellectual growth. Ravenscroft offers a variety of ways to support your child. A clinically trained mental health professional is available in each of the school’s three divisions. Students, faculty and staff who become ill or are injured at school receive expert care from our Family Nurse Practitioner and the staff located in Jones Health Center. Students enrolled in our Academic Skills Program learn the time management, test preparation and organizational skills necessary to function both successfully and independently in the classroom environment. Physical Education is offered six out of the eight days in our rotating academic schedule. By 7th grade, students can try out for one of 25 sports and 53 teams.
Our beautiful 134-acre campus has safety monitors that operate around the clock. We also staff our campus with two Raleigh Police officers who are on our campus during school hours and are assisted in the evening hours by a campus security team.
Counseling
Counseling services are available to students and parents, faculty and staff. The counselor in each of the school's three divisio
- provide clinical services to the community reflecting the highest standards of ethical practice and using the report from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Committee on Guidelines of Professional Practice (GPP) for behavioral health professionals in independent schools
- coordinates Student Assistance Teams
- provides support and leadership for the Faculty Advisory Program
- attends grade-level meetings
- serves as a resource for emotional and developmental concerns
- makes referrals to off-campus professionals and agencies
Our counselors promote evaluative thinking, sound decision-making skills, and considerate and civil treatment of others. They serve as sounding boards for students as they navigate friendships; balance the demands of academic, co-curricular and family activities, learn self-advocacy and self-discipline.
Jones Health Center
Every child has access all day, every day to a full time registered professional school nurse who provides clinical services ranging from coordinating all student electronic medical records (EMR), to managing complex medical conditions, to serving as a valued leader on our student support team, to tending to the proper care for a skinned knee. Our nurses serve in a pivotal role that bridges health care and education grounded by standards of practice.
Our nurses are located in the Jones Health Center, which was given in memory of Mr. Seby Jones, and dedicated in March 2001. The center, often referred to as "the cottage," is centrally located on campus across the quad from the Fine Arts Center. The building has an office, waiting room, treatment rooms and rooms with four cots for resting.
In Fall 2016, Rebecca Nelson, FNP, joined Ravenscroft as the Coordinator of Jones Health Center. She is assisted by Gina Taylor, RN. Our nurses dispense medications, maintain student health records, perform visual screenings at specific grade levels, encourage good health practices and coordinate services with each division's clinical counselor.
In 2017, Dr. Parkerson joined the Ravenscroft community as our school Physician. Dr. Parkerson is a practicing physician at Raleigh Pediatric Associates, a long time Raleigh resident, wife and mother to two daughters. In her role, Dr. Parkerson will provide supervision, support and collaboration with Rebec.ca Nelson, FNP, RN, Coordinator of the Jones Health Center.
Physical Education and Health
Our students’ social, emotional and physical well-being is just as important as their intellectual growth. Starting in PreK, our Lower School students start to develop basic skills and strategies for games, explore various movement patterns and start to gain an awareness and appreciation of the positive effects of physical fitness. Emphasis is placed on continued development of basic motor skills and movement patterns. Basic manipulative skills, such as throwing, catching, bouncing, and kicking, are introduced. Students begin to appreciate the importance of cooperative play and lifetime fitness through lead-up games and basic skill development. Positive attitudes toward physical activity and health and wellness are fostered, encouraging development of self-esteem, individual skills and cooperation.
As students move into Middle School, the primary goal of the program is to provide students with the knowledge and practice of fitness principles, sports skills and personal wellness. Upper School students are offered a year long, required Health and Physical Education course we encourage students to participate in during the 9th grade year complemented by a variety of Health and Wellness classes to choose from, including Fitness Education, Lifeguarding, Sports Medicine and Sport Sociology.
Academic Skills
Parent Education
As early as Pre-K, Lead From Here introduces a set of fundamental skills that successful adults use in taking on real world problems. Parenting in the 21st century presents challenges with which we want to help. The best way to understand how oue parent workshops support the growth and learning of a young person in our lives, we invite you to experience one or more of the workshops yourself. These workshops guide you through some of the same fundamentals of citizen-leadership that were co-created with the Center for Creative Leadership that your children experience every day. We also offer parent workshops hosted by our clinical counselor team and guest speakers on a variety of topics parents wish to explore in depth.