Guidance
LCoe@schools.nyc.gov
Since she was a teen Lauren Coe has known what her career path would be. In high school her favorite person was her school counselor who she says supported her, motivated her, and helped her to succeed. Ms. Coe decided then that she wanted to do for others what this important woman did for her – and the two are still in touch!
Prior to coming to PS8 Ms. Coe completed an internship at nearby MS447 and then served as the school counselor at PS39 in Park Slope. She is glad to be back in Brooklyn Heights, having spent significant time in the neighborhood attending Saint Francis College, earning a bachelor’s in English, before she went on to Fordham University for her master’s in school counseling. Ms. Coe has also served as a crisis counselor for the Trevor Project’s 24/7 crisis lifeline. While working at this leading provider of suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth, she strengthened her safety planning and crisis intervention skills.
Multitalented and flexible, Ms. Coe takes on many roles at PS8. She does individual and small group counseling, leads a fifth grade advisory group, oversees the middle school application process with the parent coordinator, and is a co-advisor, (with MS8 guidance counselor) for the GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance). She is also planning to implement some lunchtime groups for children, likely including yoga and mindfulness.
What Ms. Coe loves most about working with elementary age children is the opportunity to help them develop the skills that will enable them to become emotionally literate teenagers and adults. In all her work she focuses on teaching children to name their emotions (in nuanced ways beyond just happy or sad), to strengthen their impulse control, and to handle a range of social interactions.
Ms. Coe lives with her wife and two adorable cats in Brooklyn. When she’s not at PS8, she enjoys yoga, running (you might see her in a 5k around Brooklyn!), and reading self confessed “nerdy” public health research articles for pleasure.
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