Parents, students, school employees and education advocates are offering startling snapshots of an urban school district struggling under the strain of staggering debt.
Ruth Garcia, a school counselor speaking on behalf of 15 of her colleagues, told the School Reform Commission on Monday that there are too few counselors to handle the demands of the job, especially in the wake of widespread layoffs that took effect in June.
Garcia told the SRC that case workloads for each counselor have more than doubled and, in some cases, tripled. She said there were high numbers of special needs students who require counseling services under their Individual Education Program, making it virtually impossible to treat each student competently in adherence with ethical standards.
Shanee Garner, co-director of education policy for Public Citizens for Children and Youth, called guidance counselors an “anchor position” because they provide behavioral intervention for students with emotional and mental disabilities and can help students stay on track in achieving educational and career goals and oversee their personal well-being.
In addition, Garner said counselors have the professional training and background and are knowledgeable about key resources in schools and community at-large.
“Without that position, a counselor is what we see as a missing link for schools. It’s another adult in the building who can forge relationships with kids. In the end, the folks being short-changed are kids,” Garner said.
She believes that Philadelphia’s public school district needs a stronger model than roving counseling teams now used to serve students in the wake of widespread job layoffs triggered by significant declines in school funding. She also believes that more school funding should be doled out to school districts that educate high numbers of students with special needs.
“It’s unconscionable in a high-needs district like Philadelphia that we don’t have adequate counselors,” Garner said, noting the higher costs associated with providing programs and support services for high numbers of students who live in poverty, speak multiple languages, or cope with a broad range of mental health issues, or other emotional or psychological disturbances.
Kaila Dickstein, a school psychologist who runs a private practice in the Philadelphia suburbs, said Monday that the “value of counseling cannot be understated.”
“The kind of needs that come up in school can be very serious so you need a team of professionals who can help the children and families and the staff, the teachers and administrators, that works with kids,” said Dickstein, who prescribes treatment for children after an initial assessment at her private practice in Rosemont.
Counselors provide an important function in schools, serving children who have high emotional needs as well as students who may need help adjusting to classrooms because they carry issues from home into schools, contend with bullying, or coping with their parents’ divorce or separation or death in family, or have anxiety about their school work.
Dickstein said she noticed a consistent flaw behind many decisions by governing bodies that look at generating savings in the short term without serious consideration of the wider implications or potential long-term consequences.
“Particularly with children, we need to be thinking about what’s best for their futures,” Dickstein said.
Garcia considers herself fortunate because she was among counselors recalled to their job. She works as an itinerant counselor who visit schools on a rotated schedule. She is assigned to eight schools, four high schools, three K-8 schools, two K-5 schools and a magnet school. There are 3,700 students enrolled at those schools, and she is responsible for providing counseling services to all of them.
As a traveling counselor, she carried her own tools with her to school sites so she can be effective on the job. But a cell phone or laptop are not supplied by the school district and she estimates that it takes her and 15 colleagues “five times longer” to complete their jobs because they only have outdated technology at their disposal.
Garcia bluntly asked for guidance on how to do her job under the current work conditions. “How does the SRC see itinerant counselors being able to provide all these services to the number of schools that each of us have?”
“I have a passion for my work,” Garcia said in an open plea to the SRC to reassess the workload of counselors in the wake of cutbacks in spending and six-figure debt.
She told the SRC commissioners that she has tried to work smarter rather than harder. She has scheduled visits to more than one school during the work day. She has stayed at work until 6 p.m. She worries about using school computers to input confidential information about students under her care.
“My concern is for my students and for our schools and for the possibility of legal ramifications,” said Garcia, who asked for more resources in order to provide competent counseling services more in line with school district policies.
“That’s why I’m here and why I’ll continue to come here,” she said.
Under questioning from Commissioner Joseph Dworetzky, Garcia said she had 187 students in her charge last academic year, and that was reduced even further when a new counselor was hired.
Colleagues who are school-based counselors, assigned to schools with fewer than 600 students, have seen dramatic increases in workload as well. One colleague has 400 students in her charge, and another has 700 students.
School Superintendent William Hite Jr. said, “None of us believe there are sufficient number of counselors to serve children.” He noted that counseling are critical for high school seniors applying to colleges and eighth-graders exploring options for high school.
SRC Chairman Pedro Ramos told Garcia that he heard her request for help in making a “tough job more manageable.” He said the state-run commission responsible for running the district would look at workloads for individual counselors and technology.
Ramos and Hite both said the school district would review workload of counselors and look into technology and supplying staff with communication devices.
The Philadelphia Tribune – September 27, 2013 – Read article online