Granada Hills : Counselor Elected to Professional Post

A counselor at Robert Frost Middle School in Granada Hills has been named president-elect of the 800-member California School Counselors Assn.

Bill Gorback, 45, will serve as president-elect of the professional organization for a year before assuming the presidency on March 1, 1997.

During his tenure, the Thousand Oaks resident hopes to push for smaller student-to-counselor ratios and to implement school programs that stem violence by teaching youngsters to handle their emotions.

Using a state Department of Education report as his map, Gorback said he will work to reduce school “risk factors”--such as sarcasm, bullying and inadequate social skills--that later foster violence.

During the middle school’s activity period on Fridays, Gorback teaches “self-science,” which uses games, activities and discussions to help students recognize their feelings and respond appropriately without resorting to violence.

“One of the first things we can do is to teach [youngsters] to recognize when they’re angry,” Gorback said. “When you recognize your own feelings, the next step is to be empathetic to other people’s feelings.”