Blog: Need More Counselors at LGUSD

If a teacher needs to devote time to a student who should see a counselor, the other children in the classroom receive less attention.

If a student who needs to see a counselor disrupts a lesson and is sent to the principal, the principal’s valuable time is used up in helping that child.

Situations like these have been exacerbated during the last two years by the lack of on-site counselors atschools and the fact that the average classroom size has increased from 20 to 24 in grades K-3 and from 25 to 29 in grades 4-5.

Having only a second-grader and preschooler, I can only imagine the effect of reduced counseling time at the middle school, when children hit puberty!

Every child residing in Los Gatos, regardless of socioeconomic background, personality, disabilities or family situation, has a right to be educated at our public schools. So, there will always be children in our schools who need counseling.

Historically, a counselor was shared by the four elementary schools (Blossom Hill, Daves Ave, Lexington and Van Meter) and he/she was available four days a week.

The counselor led grief groups, divorce groups, and groups on how to behave in class, as well as counseling individuals. The counselor was a licensed marriage and family therapist, and had credentials in administration and psychology.

Today a counselor is available for only six hours a week, on contract. If a child at one elementary school is in greater need of the counselor’s time, the other elementary schools lose out.

Is there a way we can provide much needed counseling for our children without burdening LGUSD with additional costs? Could, for example, a current district counselor recruit and supervise counselors working toward licensure, who commonly volunteer their counseling services?

Imagine if each elementary school had a counselor on site five days a week. This trained person could help with supervision at lunch time/recess, as well as individual and group counseling, providing a safe, stable environment for all children.

I know this is a lot to ask in the current economic climate, when we are struggling with budget cuts. But, if an increase in counseling would mean more one-on-one attention for each child, a safe, stable school environment, and a principal that is able to run his/her school more effectively and efficiently, maybe we should be looking at ways to achieve this goal.