Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Many Utah schools still need more counselors in order to meet state requirements, but the student-to-counselor ratio is improving, according to a new report.
The State School Board established a requirement of 1 counselor per 350 students or less in 2009, reported The Deseret News (http://bit.ly/1RiyaMe ). The American School Counselor Association recommends a 1-to-250 ratio, but state education leaders saw the larger ratio as a more realistic goal for Utah schools, according to Utah State Office of Education specialist Lillian Tsosie-Jensen.
Schools that don't meet the standard are required to develop a plan for how they intend to improve.
The report says this year's ratio is 1-to-350.97 for seventh through 12th grades, which means the state needs about 30 more counselors to meet its standards.
But middle and high schools are able to employ more counselors than elementary schools thanks to supplemental funding for career and technical education programs. The student-to-counselor ration is 1-to-725 for all public schools kindergarten through 12th grade, according to Tsosie-Jensen.
She says that's the third-worst ratio in the country.
"For some of our schools that have these large ratios, it is so tough for these kids (because) their valued time with their counselor is so limited," said Tsosie-Jensen. "I wish we had the educational funding to be able to have our ratios down to 1-to-250 in every school."
The Jordan School District is now well under the state's requirement, but the district's middle and high school counselors were overwhelmed by trying to manage more than 600 students each about six years ago.
"That's kind of an overwhelming task," said Jerry Payne, lead counselor at Riverton High School. "It was very difficult for us to see everybody that we needed to see."
Payne says the change has lessened counselors' workloads and improved students' academic outcomes.
___
Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
