Deciding to become a school counselor was, in Renita Brooks鈥� estimation, 鈥渢he best decision ever.鈥�
鈥淐onnecting with the students, advocating for them鈥攂ecause I鈥檓 a big advocate for anybody鈥攊t鈥檚 just been really meaningful,鈥� she said.
Brooks, a school counselor in Cincinnati public schools in Ohio, is Black, which puts her in a small group鈥攁pproximately 11 percent鈥攐f school counselors nationally, according to from the American School Counselors Association. About 10 percent of counselors are Hispanic. A majority鈥攁bout 74 percent鈥攐f school counselors are white.
Meanwhile, the demographics of students are changing dramatically. Students of color make up more than half of the nation鈥檚 public school student population, but that鈥檚 not reflected by the educator force. School counselors are an important piece of that puzzle, researchers say, but recruitment and retention efforts are hindered by systemwide staffing woes, and many schools already don鈥檛 have enough counselors to meet ASCA鈥檚 recommended ratio of 250 students to one counselor.
Yet in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, students鈥斺�攁re facing significant mental health challenges and are struggling academically.
鈥淲hen you have those dynamics, and you have a significant need, and yet you have teachers are white, school counselors who are white鈥攖hat wall of accessing services, I think, it just lengthens,鈥� said Wendy Eckenrod-Green, a professor in the school of teacher education and leadership for Radford University who trains counselors.
鈥榊ou鈥檙e white. You don鈥檛 understand.鈥�
Eckenrod-Green鈥檚 research has shown that students who have a counselor or teacher who looks like them feel more safe and secure, and the student feels better about accessing mental health resources.
As a white woman, she鈥檚 seen the initial distrust among students of color firsthand, she said, noting she has had to work hard to build safety and security with students of color.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e told me that: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e white. You don鈥檛 understand,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淥r they have fears, that are real or imagined, that their families will be deported, or their families will be reported to social services, if they鈥檙e undocumented, as an example. It is a real fear they live with. 鈥� Because of that, they don鈥檛 access services that would be helpful for them.鈥�
There鈥檚 a level of distrust students have toward counseling staff. The lack of cultural match is certainly a factor at play, said Kamla Modi, senior director of design and impact for The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit focused on youth mental health.
When studying mental health stigma and barriers to mental health supports, Modi found high school students had a 鈥渇eeling of 鈥榯hey don鈥檛 really understand me鈥� when it comes to school counselors.鈥�
Across all race and ethnicity groups, teens were more likely to say that they would go to their parents for support, followed by their friends, then another family member, Modi said. School mental health professionals鈥攕uch as psychologists and counselors鈥攚ere not listed near the top.
The percentages of Black and Hispanic students who needed mental health support and received it were significantly lower than of white students, Modi said, looking at the JED high school data set. There are many possible reasons for that鈥攍ike where they prefer to go for help鈥攕he said, and that students of color are less likely to see counselors who look like them.
鈥淪tudents don鈥檛 see school counselors, or even teachers for that matter, as people who they can trust in their circle. That鈥檚 pretty concerning and there鈥檚 much more work we need to do there,鈥� she said.
Carletta Hurt, a school counselor in the District of Columbia鈥檚 public schools, has pushed for students to see her as an advocate. She moved from classroom teaching to counseling after witnessing and observing the challenges Black girls like her faced in the school systems. Even when students aren鈥檛 receptive at first to the support, she stays in their corner and tries to help bridge their experiences with educators.
鈥淚f students are able to have an advocate in the building, someone they know they can go to, even when stuff is bad鈥攖hey can still say, 鈥楬ey, Dr. Hurt, can you help me?鈥� That鈥檚 been a powerful tool for us to make progress,鈥� she said.
Her colleague Melva Mullins, a clinical social worker in the city鈥檚 school system who is Black, has also worked hard to build trust and break the stigma associated with getting mental health supports. She has her success stories: Two girls, fighting, each individually pulled her out of class to help mediate. One student, who caused trouble in class, came to her reflecting that he should apologize to the teacher.
鈥淥ftentimes, we don鈥檛 see the efforts of all our hard work,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut what keeps me here is that hope, and also those shining moments. I鈥檝e been earning my check all week, but this right here鈥攚orth it.鈥�
An effort in recruiting and building the pipeline
There have been targeted efforts to increase diversity in the school counselor pool, including new pipeline initiatives.
For instance, the diversity of students in the school counselor program at Marquette University in Wisconsin wouldn鈥檛 be where it was without a $2.66 million federal grant aiming at bolstering counseling services, and creating a more culturally diverse field, said Alan Burkard, a school counselor educator there.
Typically, the program brings in largely white women and only about 15 percent students of color. Since receiving the grant about a year and a half ago, though, the current cohort of students is 80 percent people of color.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really dramatic shift for our program in terms of students we鈥檙e attracting,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he scholarships help. It is really helping to provide opportunities for students to get this training, but then also to really help potentially diversify the workforce here in Wisconsin, which needs to happen.鈥�
The grant helps fuel an which allows students to take graduate classes as an undergraduate, allowing them to complete their degrees and get into the field faster.
For their field experiences, the counselor candidates are placed in four districts that mostly serve students of color. Schoolchildren have commented that the student counselors in the program look like them, Burkard said.
Those aspiring counselors have started leading group sessions in Spanish, making mental health services more accessible. And the counselors can help act as a bridge to offset disproportionate disciplinary practices.
鈥淥ur students are certainly having an impact,鈥� he said.
