Episode Details

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. School counselors make a difference in young lives throughout Jordan School District every single day. But do you know what they really do? Let's head to the halls of West Jordan Middle School and see some middle school students.

Student:
School counselors help with any kids that have a problem, emotionally or physically. They also discuss many things for our future and education. They are someone that could probably change your classes, the school counselor. like if you have problems, you can go to school counselor and talk to them. Counselors are someone that helps you get through class. Go to the school counselor to take honor classes and AP classes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Today we're celebrating school counselors. If you've ever wondered what they really do, how they can help parents and students, this episode of the Supercast is for you. We're about to dispel the myths and explain all the ways counselors can help you and your students. Here to tell us about the important work being done is Secondary Counseling Specialist, Stacee Worthen. Stacee, welcome to the Supercast.

Stacee:
Thank you Superintendent.

Anthony Godfrey:
So all of us have been to school. We've been to middle school. We've been to high school. We've met with counselors at various times, but things change over time. And many times, as adults we think, well, I went to high school. I know what high school was like. And so we may all think that we know what counselors do, right? Can you help us understand better what does the modern middle and high school counselor do these days? How do they help kids?

Stacee:
That's a good question, because counselors wear many hats. A lot of parents will just assume that counselors are academic advisors, scholarship advisors. But what counselors do is so much more. We actually are trained to look at the whole person. So as that student comes in, we might be doing a schedule change, but we're looking at that whole student as an individual, as we're looking at their schedule. We're looking at why does this child want a schedule change? Do they need to be challenged? Do they need to be put into AP courses? Do they need concurrent? Is that a better fit? Are they having some learning issues that maybe we need to work with the teachers to see if there are some interventions that we can put into place? Maybe we need to implement some Special Ed testing because we see some disparities in how they're doing in specific classes.

We also do groups. We run groups. We look at anytime a student is struggling with stress, anxiety, suicidal ideation, where that mental health support within the school that can really start meeting in a responsive, quick way to get that student some help. Initially, maybe we're doing some cognitive behavioral training, some techniques with that student to try and get them back into class to be successful. Or maybe we're calling the parents to work with the student to maybe implement something that's a little bit more involved. Maybe we're giving some references to some counseling that might be more long-term and beneficial for that student. Maybe we're referring to our in-school LCSW to give them some supports that way. There's just really a lot of things we're doing now that I think weren't done when we were in high school.