ashland.news
December 8, 2023

Viewpoint: National School Counseling Week

February 8, 2022

Schools must provide counseling

By Gene Eakin

The second week of February – February 7-11, 2022 – is National School Counseling Week (NSCW) and is the time annually when districts and communities acknowledge and celebrate the work of school counselors. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) provides national leadership for NSCW and the Oregon School Counselor Association (OSCA) Governing Board under the leadership of President Roberto Aguilar provides state leadership for this week of acknowledgment of the approximately 1,400 school counselors in Oregon.

The OSCA Board would also like to take this time to call the public’s attention to several matters. The first is that all counselors and administrators need to be more well-informed about the Oregon Statutes – OAR 581-022-2060 – mandating that school districts provide comprehensive school counseling services to all students and utilize the Oregon Framework in doing so. Secondly, school districts need to hire licensed school counselors to develop and implement the comprehensive school counseling program. Licensed school counselors are the one professional possessing a master’s degree and prepared to provide the career and college readiness counseling, academic counseling, personal-social counseling, and student community engagement required in the statutes.

Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of inequity in the provision of these services across eastern and central Oregon. A few districts have no licensed school counselors and other districts have no licensed school counselors in their elementary schools. Smaller districts do access their ESD and community health services; however, it is unlikely that students in these districts receive the full complement of comprehensive services spelled out in the statute. On the other hand, there are districts that have maintained licensed school counselors in all their schools and others that have just recently added counselors in their elementary schools.

The Oregon statutes are based on the belief that all children in Oregon deserve comprehensive school counseling programs. Don’t you? Are the students in your schools receiving the same K-12 comprehensive program as students in other districts throughout the state? If not, why not? Check with your school board and your superintendent to find out if the district has a comprehensive program and then hire licensed school counselors to deliver that program.

Note that the School Counselor Association is aware of the challenges districts in eastern and central Oregon face in hiring licensed school counselors should the district decide to do so. OSCA will be requesting the State Board of Education, the Oregon Legislature, and the six school counselor education programs collaborate with the OSCA Board to develop and implement a plan to address the issues raised above.

In closing, the OSCA Board sends a heart-felt thanks to not only all school counselors but also to all certified, administrative, and classified staff for their dedication to Oregon’s students. The 2022 Mental Health America Report once again reported that Oregon’s children and adolescents ranked in the bottom five of the 50 states with regard to having community mental health resources equal to the need.

The burden for meeting these needs thus falls disproportionately on our schools. As the Oregon Education Association has documented in their report — “A Crisis In Disrupted Learning” — our schools need more school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and community mental health resources. Thank you everyone for the amazing work you are doing during these challenging times!

Gene Eakin, Ph.D., is the Advocacy Chair for the Oregon School Counselor Association.

vibrant

vibrant


Related Posts...

classroom

Viewpoint: Little Rock, Arkansas, revisited

Michael O’Looney: Knowledge does not generate hatred. Rather, it opens minds. A glimpse into our past helps us to understand how perspectives have changed over time and how Americans have continually endeavored to construct a better, more just society.

Read More »

Latest posts

Relocations: Politics far and near

Herbert Rothschild: Apparently, Kissinger insisted on recording practically every word he said. His aides later commented that he needed to keep track of which lie he told to whom.

Read More >

Ashland City Council approves camping ordinance in split vote

On a 4-2 vote, the Ashland City Council on Tuesday approved the first of two required readings of an ordinance to control time, place and manner of camping in Ashland. The ordinance will control occupation of public spaces and enforce behavior, rather than status, and does not seek to punish those who are homeless, the acting city attorney told the council.

Read More >

Mt. Ashland Ski Area pushes back opening day, despite snowstorm

Andrew Gast, general manager of the Mt. Ashland Ski Area, had hoped that this Saturday would be opening day for skiing this season, but he admitted defeat on Thursday, despite the latest snowstorm. Things are now day to day, while he, a couple hundred employees and untold numbers of skiers wait for more snow.

Read More >

Explore More...

Relocations: Politics far and near

Herbert Rothschild: Apparently, Kissinger insisted on recording practically every word he said. His aides later commented that he needed to keep track of which lie he told to whom.

Read More>

Ashland City Council approves camping ordinance in split vote

On a 4-2 vote, the Ashland City Council on Tuesday approved the first of two required readings of an ordinance to control time, place and manner of camping in Ashland. The ordinance will control occupation of public spaces and enforce behavior, rather than status, and does not seek to punish those who are homeless, the acting city attorney told the council.

Read More>
ashland.news logo

Subscribe to the newsletter and get local news sent directly to your inbox.

(It’s free)

Don't Miss Our Top Stories

Get our newsletter delivered to your inbox three times a week.
It’s FREE and you can cancel anytime.

NewsMatch is here! For a limited time, your donation to Ashland.news will be DOUBLED.