The second week of February — February 6-10 — is National School Counseling Week and is the time annually when districts and communities acknowledge and celebrate the work of school counselors.

The American School Counselor Association provides national leadership for NSCW and the Oregon School Counselor Association governing board provides state leadership for this week of acknowledgment of the approximately 1,600 school counselors in Oregon.

The OSCA Board encourages all school districts to develop and implement comprehensive school counseling programs. OSCA also requests districts hire licensed school counselors to develop and implement their comprehensive school counseling program. Licensed school counselors are the one professional possessing a master’s degree and prepared to provide the career and college readiness counseling, academic counseling, social-emotional learning and student community involvement.

In closing, the OSCA Board sends a heartfelt thanks to not only all school counselors but also to all certified, administrative, and classified staff for their dedication to Oregon’s students. The 2023 “Mental Health America” report ranks Oregon second from the bottom in regard to meeting the mental health needs of its children, adolescents and adults.

The burden for meeting these needs thus falls disproportionately on our schools. As the Oregon Education Association has documented in their report, “A Crisis in Disrupted Learning” our schools need more school counselors, nurses, psychologists and school social workers, as well as better student access to community mental health resources. Thank you everyone for the amazing work you are doing during these challenging times.

Gene Eakin

Advocacy chair, Oregon School Counselor Association