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Many students will be heading back to school soon and making decisions about their future without much time with a guidance counselor. One legislator wants to do something about that.
According to Sen. Pat Jones, in high-growth areas such as at South Jordan Middle School, 649 students are assigned to one counselor.
She says counselors often have several duties. "They were hired to be guidance counselors and, in fact, what they are doing now is spending a great deal of their time administering tests, and entering data like changing class schedules -- a lot of clerical work," Jones says. "We need to use their skills more effectively."
Jones says a student may only get 10 minutes a year with their counselor. She says this leads to people leaving college with no idea how to work. "What we are trying to do is integrate this knowledge early in a person's lifetime, and that would be in elementary school," says Jones. She is working on a bill for the 2009 legislative session to give parents tools to be more involved. She wants the cooperation of parents, schools, government and business leaders.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
