Counseling Services

Name: Visitation School
Address: 2455 Visitation Drive, Mendota Heights, MN, 55120, US
Telephone: 651-683-1700

Welcome to Counseling at Visitation

With Salesian values as our guide, the counseling team at Visitation School provides support for students in their academic, personal and social lives. Our understanding of students is based on their specific strengths and focused on personal growth, with emphasis on healthy relationships and honest communication.

Along with faculty and staff, our counseling team works to maintain an environment in which students can learn and grow. Promoting positive attitudes toward self, family, peers and community is an important component of our work.

We partner with parents in the growth and development of each child in our care. As partners with Visitation parents, we understand that families are most instrumental in the growth and development of their children.

We strive to build trusting relationships with students and are available to all students both individually and in groups to discuss personal and academic issues.

Lower School

Lower school

Kelley Stoneburner M.Ed - Lower School
Room 92B
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m. or by appointment

As a member of the counseling team, Kelley offers counseling services to Lower and Upper School students and families at Visitation. She holds a B.A. in Government from the College of St. Benedict and a Master's in School Counseling from The University of Wisconsin at River Falls.

Kelley is available to meet with students individually or in groups, depending on particular needs. She also serves as a resource to teachers and families when consultation or outside referrals are needed. Kelley had a long career in Human Resources, and then followed her passion of working with kids in educational settings, helping them grow in their social, emotional and academic skills.

Throughout the year, she will be teaching students in their classrooms with lessons on self-control, friendship, perseverance, life skills, etc. She will also organize small groups to meet and focus on strengthening social and emotional skills. She looks forward to helping students deal with anxious feelings and other hard emotions, and she is eager to help remove barriers that interfere with students' love of learning.

About Me

School Counseling is my second career. After graduating from the College of St. Benedict with a degree in Government/Economics, I worked for UnitedHealth Group, Thomson Reuters and Lawson software for over 25 years. I enjoyed my work in Human Resources, but as our two children were going off to college, I decided the time was right to do what I really love - work with kids. I received my Master's in Education-School Counseling from U of Wi-River Falls- four years ago. I am thrilled to be the LS Counselor at Vis and work with this extraordinary staff. It's an exciting time to be a school counselor. The new brain science is proving the importance of social/emotional well being in learning. Teaching children about their emotions is endlessly interesting and fun!

My husband Tom and I have been married 32 years and live in Mendota Heights. We have two children- Michael (29) and Natalie (25) and feel very fortunate that they live close to us. Tom has worked at TKDA, Engineers and Architects his entire career. We have a cabin in Ely and love to canoe, fish, cross-country ski and read books.

Middle School

Middle SCHOOL

Julie Linscheid MA, PSC - Middle School Counselor
Room 140B
651-683-1733
Office Hours: Monday through Friday 7:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.

My name is Julie Linscheid, and as part of the counseling team, I divide my time between the Middle School and Upper School. Along with the other counselors, I help provide preventive and responsive support for students’ academic, personal, and social needs. While I’m new to this position, I’ve been the Visitation diving coach since 2005. Go Blazers!

Over the years I have spent time as a middle school and high school English teacher, a diving coach, a track and field coach, a College and Career Center coordinator, and now as a school counselor, with a stint as a stay-home mom while my sons were little. I received a BA in history with a women’s studies concentration from St. Olaf College, an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas, and completed my school counseling licensure through Adler Graduate School of Psychology.

My husband, Nate, who is the Visitation swim coach, and I have two sons who are in 7th and 10th grades. In my free time, I enjoy going for walks in my neighborhood, watching The Great British Baking Show with my family, being with friends and family, and reading good books. I’m so excited to be part of the Visitation counseling team!

Upper School

Kim Cross- MA, Upper School Counselor
Room 140C
651-683-1726
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. or by appointment

Hello! My name is Kim Cross and I am so excited to be working in the Visitation School community as the Upper School counselor. I provide both preventative and responsive counseling services for students' personal, social, and academic needs and provide support for our school community as a whole. I am also looking forward to serving as a Peer Mentor advisor!

I graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. I then went on to serve for 2 years as a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary, where I had opportunities to mentor students on a college campus and lead various international and domestic mission trips. I found a passion for working with students of all ages, which led to my completion of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls School Counseling program. I completed my Masters degree with over 600 hours of internship experience at a variety of schools and am licensed in both the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin as a School Counselor.

In my free time, I enjoy reading a good book, cooking/baking, being with friends & family, and being active. I also enjoy practicing mindfulness and learning more about overall wellness. My husband and I were married in May 2021 and we love being part of the Vis Community!

Lee Blum, Upper School Counselor

651-683-1700 ext 728
Book An Appointment

Additional Staff

Vis Calming Room

Confidentiality Statement

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT REMOTE COMMUNICATION WITH THE SCHOOL COUNSELORS:

Since the possibility of going to remote learning exists, here are some notes about school counselors and confidentiality in a remote learning environment that students should be aware of:

We want to stay in touch with you and support you. Please reach out at any time and we will respond in a timely manner.
In the case of urgent matters, please know that we can’t guarantee an immediate response. In the case of an emergency, dial 911, or find crisis numbers here.
Your privacy is important to us and we will maintain that by not having others in our home workspaces during Zoom calls, and by not recording conversations with you. We expect that you do the same.
Typical limitations to student confidentiality apply to email correspondence, telephone conversations or Zoom conferencing as well. This means school counselors are bound to inform parents/guardians of immediate concerns about the safety of a student or to report suspected abuse or neglect to county protective services.
Please let the counselor know if you have any questions about how these limitations apply to particular topics or situations.
While we typically talk with a student about reported safety concerns first, remote learning does not always allow us timely access to students. Therefore, if we come to learn about an immediate safety concern for a student we will likely reach out to a parent/guardian to assess the situation and assist the family in establishing appropriate support for the student.

Telehealth Appts

If your student needs to attend a virtual telehealth appointment from 8 am to 2 pm (pediatrician, psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, dermatologist, etc.), a parent/guardian must notify Visitation Attendance just as it would for any in-person appointment that requires a student absence or partial absence.

Students will need to sign out/in at the attendance office. The parent/guardian is also requested to fill out this form 24 hours prior to the appointment(s) - so that we can find a space for the student to attend their virtual appointment.

If a student is leaving during class, they must get a pass from Mr. Supplee. And if they will be arriving late to class after the appointment, Mr. Supplee will give them a pass to their class. Then the student must check out of class with their teacher at the appropriate time and head directly to one of the following individuals to check in. Upon doing so, they will be shown to a quiet place where they can attend their appointment:

JoAnne Geiser, School Nurse or Ann Feitl, Dean of Student Life - Doctors appointments (pediatrician, dermatologist, etc.)
Kim Cross, Lee Blum, or Julie Linscheid School Counselors - Therapy or Psychology/Psychiatry appointments

Virtual Appointment Form