Many parents may not completely understand the role of the school counselor. According to ASCA (The American School Counselor Association) School Counselors are uniquely qualified to address the developmental needs of all students through a comprehensive school counseling program addressing the academic, career and personal/social development of all students. We work to safeguard the human rights of all members of the school community and address the needs of all students through culturally relevant prevention and intervention programs that are a part of a comprehensive school counseling program.

Each School Counselor brings a unique sets of talents and experience to their role. Prior to coming to Cooper Academy as a School Counselor I worked for the University of California, Merced as the Director of the Upward Bound Program. As Director, I assisted academically at-risk high school students get back on track for both high school graduation requirements as well as the A-G university requirements. In this position I saw first hand the need for early college and career planning for students in middle school and was able to see the danger in sending students to high school unprepared. Therefore, one of my focuses as School Counselor at Cooper Academy is ensuring our students are exposed to information about colleges, careers and A-G courses while in Middle School. Empowering our students at the Middle Level with that type of information will help ensure their success in high school and beyond.

While at Cooper, one of things I have come to realize is that our students are one of our greatest assets. What I mean by this is that students, in many different ways, have the power to shape a school and need to be looked upon as a resource for building a positive school environment. One great example of this can be seen in the area of bullying. According to dosometing.org, 90 (ninety) percent of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying. At Cooper Academy we have decided to leverage the students to help us combat bullying and have been incredible successful during our first year. The H.E.R.O. (Helping Encourage the Respect of Others) Club is a group of students who meet once a week with me and discuss the climate of bullying at Cooper. I bring in education materials for the students to teach them how to stand up to bullying, what the various forms of bullying are and how to educate their peers about bullying among other things. in the 2nd Quarter the H.E.R.O. Club sponsored a whole school rally in which students and teachers shared what it was like to be bullied, why they chose to stand up against it and the lasting impact words can have. The assembly was incredibly impactful and the work of the H.E.R.O. has continued throughout the rest of the school year.