Sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, National School Counseling Week, (NSCW) highlights the tremendous impact that school counselors have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. It is always celebrated during the first full week in February.
HCPS takes this week to honor, celebrate, and thank the 35 school counselors within our District who play pivotal and skilled roles in supporting students from kindergarten through high school.
Each day we are featuring one of our school counselors as they share a few timely and relevant topics: mental health, student attendance, crisis, and this year’s NSCW theme, “School Counselors: Helping Students Dream Big.”
“Helping Students Dream Big” with Molly Johnson, a school counselor at Apple Valley Middle School:
Even before students are thinking about high school, how do middle school counselors get students thinking in more concrete ways about careers and jobs that would resonate with each child?
“Oftentimes these conversations come up naturally as counselors meet with students and learn about their current interests and concerns. Many middle school students have limited understanding of the variety of careers available to them or what it would take to achieve those career goals. I find myself using any opportunity I have to connect a student’s current interests, decisions, and goals to their future lives.
In a more concrete way I also work closely with our CTE teachers using the virtual Pathful Explore career program, which allows students to explore and learn about career options they are interested in as well as careers they might have never considered nor knew existed.
Larger school wide events are also a great way to get middle schoolers dreaming about their future career options. I am organizing an event for our 8th graders this Spring in which students will get to play a “simulation” of the game of Life. Hands-on activities and challenges will include gaining experience with money management, long term debt, wants vs. needs, economic trends, and long term education/training requirements. The hope is that these types of experiences help students envision their futures in new and exciting ways.
I also assist with field trips to Blue Ridge Community College, UNC Asheville, and AB Tech to give students an opportunity to experience a college campus and learn about different programs and educational opportunities.”
