Education Week - January 19, 2022 - 6

Why School
Counselors of
Color Matter
More Than Ever
By Ileana Najarro
Alma Lopez, a counselor at Livingston
Middle School in Livingston, Calif.,
went to college almost by chance.
The daughter of Mexican immigrants
growing up in a predominately
white, rural neighborhood, Lopez, was
never called in to meet with her high
school counselor, who was white. One
day she asked a fellow student about
a California State University, Fresno
sweatshirt he was wearing at the time.
The conversation led her to apply and
later attend the school.
She had no knowledge of financial
aid she could apply for, no insight into
what the college experience as a firstgeneration
student would entail, and
no clue how much her family would
initially struggle emotionally with the
move.
It turned out well for Lopez, who is
the 2022 American School Counselor
Association's School Counselor of the
Year, and the first Latina to win the
honor. But she recognizes how much
she missed out on from not having
had a counselor who could have better
prepared her for college in a way
that acknowledged her lived experience.
For
all students, the chaotic nature
of the COVID-19 pandemic has
caused mental health challenges and
sidelined traditional strategies to prepare
to attend college.
But that's especially the case for students
of color, who today make up a
majority of the K-12 student population
and who were disproportionally
impacted by the pandemic. For instance,
communities of color have suffered
a greater number of deaths due
to COVID-19; pre-existing academic
performance gaps among students
of color have widened; and students
of color have seen the largest drop in
college enrollment during 2020, particularly
at two-year colleges.
Experts emphasize how diversity
within the school counseling profession
is essential for supporting these
students at such a critical time and
beyond. That's diversity both in terms
of the racial/ethnic demographics of
counselors, and in terms of ensuring
all counselors intentionally practice
cultural sensitivity in their work.
And they're encouraging school districts
to more actively recruit counselors
of color, more strategically provide
students of color with the same college-going
resources white students
have historically been provided, and
help counselors get rid of their racial
biases.
The benefits of diverse school
counselors
School counselors oversee the academic
development, career development,
and social-emotional development
of students across the country.
In such work, counselors can end up
Alma Lopez, a middle school
counselor in Livingston,
Calif., works in a district
where 80 percent of
students are Hispanic.
As a fluent Spanish speaker
and daughter of immigrants,
Lopez provides a level of
credibility to Latino students
and families, a big advantage
when she works to help
students plan their futures
and address their mental
health concerns.
3 Ways to Help Students to Be the First
In Their Families to Attend College
By Ileana Najarro
Alma Lopez, the 2022 American School
Counselor Association School Counselor of
the Year and lead school counselor at Livingston
Middle School in Livingston, Calif., went
to college as a first-generation student without
crucial information that could have helped
her, such as the fact that there were different
ways to pay for tuition that didn't involve taking
out loans.
Now the pandemic has upended future planning
for current high school students, with
2021 graduates reporting heightened stress
along with financial hardship as they enrolled
in college, starting full-time work, or took on
caregiving roles. This was among the main
findings from a nationally representative EdWeek
Research Center survey conducted in
August and September 2021 of nearly 1,500
high-achieving high school graduates.
The survey additionally found that more
than 1 in 5 low-income 2021 graduates said
they changed their college or job plans to care
for a family member infected with or at high
risk for COVID-19, and about 14 percent of respondents
said they " never " received support
from their high school on questions related to
financial aid.
When working particularly with students
who would be the first in their family to go to
college at this tumultuous time, Lopez offers
some advice to best serve their needs.
6 | EDUCATION WEEK | January 19, 2022 | www.edweek.org
Lopez grew up in a Mexican immigrant
household where she couldn't ask her parents
for advice on how to apply for college.
" Many families are similar to my own
parents who came to the country as young
adults, wanting that better opportunity,
trusting the systems that were out there to
guide [their children] but really limited in
their own understanding of a lot of those
systems, " Lopez said.
When working with students in a similar
situation, Lopez strives to provide as much
information as possible to students and their
families about all paths available post-high
school without assuming students already
have a family member they can turn to for
advice. That includes, for instance, explaining
what scholarships students can apply for
and what work-study programs entail.
2. Get parents involved
The more parents who didn't attend college
themselves can learn and be part of
their child's education journey, the better
the connections school counselors can form
with students, Lopez has found.
That's why when Lopez takes her students
out to field trips at state and community
colleges, parents partake as chaperones to
1. Don't assume what information
the student can access
share in the learning experience. She has
even coordinated events and field trips specifically
for creating a space where parents
can ask all sorts of questions, such as how
scholarships and work-study programs work
and what exactly is the living situation on
college campuses.
3. Demystify the college experience
Students too have questions about college
that go beyond the application process.
It's why Lopez's school in Livingston,
Calif., works with the Advancement Via
Individual Determination program that
partners her middle school students with
current college students to help them learn
things like studying and communication
skills. Knowing how to study effectively,
how to communicate and how to be organized
are skills that aid students' success
in school and really in life, Lopez said. The
program also offers her students an opportunity
to ask all sorts of questions about
college life such as what activities, including
sports, are available; do they have to
pay for meals; and do they have to live on
campus.
The more school counselors can help demystify
the college experience for students,
the better planning for college can go with
students being able to ask more specific
questions about the process.
Ryan McVay/The Image Bank
Max Whittaker for Education Week
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - January 19, 2022

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