Yesterday was a big win for the guidance counselors of Philadelphia: despite being fired and re-hired against seniority rules back in 2013, a judge has ruled in favor of an arbitrator, stating that the School District of Philadelphia was in the wrong when it made those decisions 2.5 years ago and must re-hire all its former counselors.
If you remember back in the summer of 2013 the recently-hired Superintendent Hite made the decision with his team to go against the Philadelphia Federation of Teacher's contract and dismiss all counselors in a budgetary squeeze that ended up shuttering numerous schools and reducing the teaching population immensely. Some were hired back but not in order of seniority and many schools were even left without full-time counselors (explain to me how a roaming counselor works as well as one who is there every day). The counselors started a website/blog that doesn't have an enormous amount of information on it but shares some of the things that are eliminated when you lack a proper counseling department:
If you remember back in the summer of 2013 the recently-hired Superintendent Hite made the decision with his team to go against the Philadelphia Federation of Teacher's contract and dismiss all counselors in a budgetary squeeze that ended up shuttering numerous schools and reducing the teaching population immensely. Some were hired back but not in order of seniority and many schools were even left without full-time counselors (explain to me how a roaming counselor works as well as one who is there every day). The counselors started a website/blog that doesn't have an enormous amount of information on it but shares some of the things that are eliminated when you lack a proper counseling department:
- Crisis intervention for students with suicidal and homicidal ideation.
- Handle homeless students and families as well as those involved in the DHS system.
- De-escalation of students with behavior issues.
- Meet with community partners to develop services for students.
- Complete the FAFSA, SAT and ACT registrations.
- Complete transcripts for college admissions and scholarships.
- Work with truancy agencies around attendance.
- Intervene when the nurse is unavailable.
- Classroom guidance activities.
- Connect families with community based counseling services.
- Help students complete Individualized Learning Plans.
- Provide a safe haven for students in need of support.
I suppose it is a wonderful coincidence that this decision is handed down at the close of National School Counseling week. I want to share my support for counselors everywhere - be they in schools or otherwise - as helpful, trained people to make sure everyone has their emotional needs met.
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