Shining a spotlight on local counselors during National School Counseling Week
FOX61 spoke with school counselors in Newington and Hartford.
Some may argue school counselors and mental health professionals are needed now more than ever in the age of COVID-19.
The importance of their presence and resources is being highlighted during National School Counseling Week.
FOX61's Julia LeBlanc spoke with counselors in Newington and in Hartford. There, they spoke of the impact having school counselors have on the student body.
'If I can do it, you can do this too.'
“We are always every single day, doing things with passion to make a difference, it is very important," said Anthoniel Bruno, a school counselor based at Bulkeley High School's south campus in Hartford.
Bruno and his colleagues are there for academic support and to help students complete and find the right classes. However, they also offer social-emotional help.
For Bruno, it's all about being a role model.
“Being a Latino, being a bilingual person, speaking both languages, makes them feel, 'If I can do it, you can do this too,'” Bruno explained.
After eight years of school, a master's degree, and a couple of jobs later, Bruno landed at Bulkeley. He said he loves his students and his work.
“Every single day is different," Bruno said.
With an open-door policy, Bruno said many students feel comfortable stopping by to tell him how they're feeling. And these days, they may need a little more guidance due to the pandemic.
“Our youth today, they have a lot of things on their plate. Family, now with COVID, school, academic, they have a lot of things," Bruno said. "I always tell them and inspire them, one day at a time. Make your goals in long terms – and in small terms too – but keep doing it," Bruno said.
Bruno and his colleagues are not therapists but they're there to listen and guide people in the right direction. However, people like Bruno are getting a little harder to find across the nation.
“Prior to the last two or three years, there’s never been an issue of having enough people trained as school counselors to fill existing openings," said Jill Cook, Executive Director of the American School Counselor Association. "You have to have a master's degree in most states in school counseling to be certified to work in a school as a school counselor. But, like we're seeing in all of education, we now have a shortage."
The association supports more than 43,000 members. Cook said they're hearing from many counselors across the country who are sharing stories of how much they and their students are impacted by COVID.
Despite the shortage in people getting into the field, however, Cook said they are not seeing the major budget cuts that used to be a trend of the past in this industry.
"We don't see these positions being cut anymore," Cook explained. "Often when budgets got tight, elementary school counselors would get cut – or sometimes middle school – but we don't see positions getting cut anymore because of the value seen in having this support for students."
The country and Connecticut are showing support for school counselors all week, hosting seminars, informational sessions, having in-school T-shirt contests, and spreading the love in social media challenges.
"It does raise awareness about the role. It may be engaging others who may not be aware," Cooks said. "So, it just really gives us a week to shine a light on the profession and individuals, and talk about what we do."
To get involved in the online challenges and thank Connecticut school counselors, click here.
'School counselors are champions for students.'
School officials in Newington are taking the initiative during National School Counseling Week and demonstrating their appreciation for their counseling staff.
Social media challenges, contests, and other events are now in full force. FOX61 got to see it all in action at both of their middle schools on Wednesday.
"[School counselors] have been an integral part of helping our students transition and work back into a regular school day, as regular as possible," said Jason Lambert, principal at Martin Kellogg Middle School.
Throughout the week, students and staff at Martin Kellogg Middle School will be sporting different outfit themes in honor of each school counseling staff member. The school is equipped with three counselors, one school psychologist, and a social worker.
"We're just trying to make sure that our students and staff and community really do appreciate the work that school counselors do. They round out our student's experience, getting them ready socially, emotionally, academically," Lambert said.
The counselors are there to offer support whenever the students need their help.
"The best way I can put it is, school counselors are champions for students," said Diana Emond, a school counselor at Martin Kellogg Middle School. "We do everything. We work with families, we work with students, we work with staff. Here at Martin Kellogg, we are so lucky. We have the most unbelievable counseling team.
Just down the road at John Wallace Middle School, they are equipped with the same amount of staff who are just as passionate about their roles as counselors.
They are also celebrating in different ways this week.
"We're asking the staff on Friday to wear their college gear," said Dana Kavarsky, a counselor at John Wallace Middle School. "What that does is it opens up the conversation about where they went to college and how they landed in the career that they're in now."
It's a career the counselors all feel so passionate about and they hope to encourage others to look into getting into the business.
"I think reaching out and just asking for support and if it's something you're passionate about, I'd say, go for it," said Gina Schmidt a counselor at John Wallace Middle School. "We love having interns with us here at John Wallace, so always reach out to counselors that you know and I think just being brave to enter into the field and knowing that it's going to be an awesome experience."
It's an experience they say that doesn't involve one person. It takes a village.
"We wouldn't be able to do any of this amazing program without a supportive community and we're super lucky here to have an administrative team, teachers, support staff that really value these interventions, and we wouldn't be able to do it without our entire school community," said Rosie Breindel, another counselor at John Wallace Middle School.
For those looking to become a school counselor in Connecticut, find out more information on this website.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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