From Happenstance to Intention
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Author(s): Sandra Conrad
March 1, 2022
It’s a bit surreal for Alma Lopez to contemplate all that it means for her to be named the 2022 School Counselor of the Year, and she is incredibly honored and humbled to receive the distinction. “I love being a school counselor,” she said. “I want to be a part of contributing to making the world better, to making the world positive.”
The Spanish phrase, “¡Sí, se puede!” or “Yes, we can!” reverberates in her mind. The rally cry attributed to César Chávez and the farmworkers’ movement seems especially appropriate, given that Lopez is a school counselor at Livingston Middle School, a rural school of 804 students, grades 6–8 located in California’s agriculturally rich Central Valley. At Livingston Middle School, 86% of the students are Hispanic, 10% are Punjabi Indian and 4% are white or other. All students receive free or reduced-price lunch.
“Miss Lopez is extremely active in all aspects of our school and goes out of her way to be the voice for the students and people who do not often have a voice,” said Markella Tsatsaronis, teacher on special assignment/administrative designee. “She is a voice of reason, a kind human and the protector of students and their rights.”
A school counselor at Livingston Middle School since 2006, Lopez took on the additional role of district school counselor coordinator in 2015. Early on, she worked at the middle school while also serving as the sole school counselor at each of the district’s three elementary schools. Under her leadership, the district has expanded to five full-time school counselors, two at the middle school and one at each elementary school, and all schools in her district have attained RAMP status.
Colleagues praise Lopez for her ability to transform the school counseling landscape and promote a shared vision that supports all students in the district.
“It is because of her collaborative and supportive approach that counseling programs and services are valued by staff and embraced by students and their families,” said superintendent Andrés Zamora.
“Ms. Lopez is a hardworking, dedicated and sincere professional who does not shy away from challenges and opportunities in the best interest of students,” said Kujinder Sekhon, assistant superintendent of instruction and pupil services, Livingston Union School District (LUSD).
“Ms. Alma is passionate about school counseling,” said counseling colleague Wendy Gonzalez. “I do not think that I would be the school counselor that I am today if it was not for her mentorship, friendship and compassion.”
“Alma has been one of the most passionate and hard-working individuals I have encountered in our profession,” said Diego Castro, school counselor at Selma Herndon Elementary School, LUSD. “I truly appreciate all the support and advocacy she has provided.”
It Started with a T-shirt
Growing up, college simply wasn’t on the radar for Lopez. “Education had not been something our family fully understood,” she said. Her hard-working parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico with little more than a dream to build a better life for themselves and their family. Her dad, José Luis, had completed sixth grade and her mom, Elena Estela, second grade, which makes Lopez not only a first-generation college student, but a first-generation high school student as well.
Lopez fondly recalls the educators who went out of their way for her, such as the middle school principal who drove her and her sister to school or the seventh-grade teacher who wrote confirming messages on her papers, even when she missed the mark. “I ate it all up, and I believed it. He was probably the first individual in education who made me feel like I could achieve something more.”
In high school, Lopez saw a student wearing a Fresno State T-shirt and asked about it. “He told me his brother went there. That was the first time I really heard anything about college,” Lopez said.
It was an “ah-ha” moment for Lopez. She decided to apply to California State University – Fresno herself, figuring that if she didn’t get in, she would just get a job like she’d already planned. She was accepted, and her college journey began.
Lopez found her psychology classes interesting, and she enjoyed learning about human behavior and motivation. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she landed a job as an adoption social worker, an “unintentional” choice she says, driven by a need for a job more than a career calling. The job led to opportunities working in early intervention and prevention programs, and Lopez discovered she enjoyed being with students every day. “I loved being able to learn their stories and ask them questions about who they are and what their goals were for the future,” Lopez said.
She decided to make the switch from social work to a career in school counseling and obtained her master’s degree in school counseling. When looking for a school counseling position, she happened upon an opening at Livingston Middle School, in a town she knew from her days driving to and from college. She and the school administrators and faculty shared a vision for students, and she knew she had found a home.
As a new school counselor in a rural district, Lopez quickly realized the daunting, although rewarding, challenges ahead. She split her time between the middle school, where she worked with one other school counselor, and the district’s three elementary schools. At one point her student-to-school-counselor ratio was 2,500:1. “It was a little crazy,” she said. “I was a very Band-Aid approach.”
Unfamiliar with the ASCA National Model, which hadn’t been fully formed when she was in graduate school, Lopez knew she needed to put some structures in place if she was going to serve so many students. She started doing classroom instruction and small groups as she was able. “I was an ASCA-wannabe without knowing it.” When she heard about an upcoming ASCA Annual Conference, Lopez jumped at the chance to attend and convinced her school counseling colleague to join her.
She loved the conference’s focus on academic achievement, college and career readiness and social/emotional wellness. Equipped with the ASCA National Model book she purchased at the conference, Lopez returned eager to see what a comprehensive school counseling program could do for her students. She began to incorporate individual pieces of an ASCA National Model program at each of her schools.
Things changed dramatically for Lopez in 2015, when she learned from her superintendent that more funding was available, thanks to California’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which granted school districts more control of funds. Seemingly overnight, Lopez was in a position to influence the formation of a districtwide school counseling team.
As she articulated the role of the school counselor, Lopez described what the the district could accomplish with a truly comprehensive school counseling program. “With a school counselor in every building, we could start to bring some of those barriers down and increase access to information, resources and opportunity,” she said.
Initially, her superintendent agreed to hire one more school counselor, plus a replacement for her colleague who by that point had moved on to an administrative role. Shortly thereafter, the superintendent told Lopez the district planned to invest even more resources into school counseling – enough to have five full-time school counselors.
Sensing the opportunity before her, Lopez stressed the importance of hiring school counselors committed to implementing a comprehensive school counseling program, people who were caring, proactive, engaging and had a shared vision. The resulting team exceeded her expectations. “I found my people, mi familia,” Lopez said of her district colleagues.
When offered the school counseling coordinator position, she readily accepted, with the caveat that she could remain a school counselor. She attended that year’s ASCA Annual Conference to gain insights into leading the districtwide effort. Returning with an ASCA National Model book for each of her new colleagues, Lopez instructed them to bring it to every meeting.
As they worked on programs for their respective schools, the school counseling team developed an approach that continues to this day – planning out the year as a district team and aligning the school counseling goals to the district goals. “We have found great support because when you speak the same language, then people will listen,” Lopez said.
The school counseling team first reviews the previous year’s data, such as truant reports and grades. They also look at all of the pieces the principals are responsible for, such as the LCAP and site plans. Then they decide on their agreed-upon data markers for the upcoming year and incorporate themed initiatives, such as those in the ASCA monthly awareness dates calendar. Once their goals and plans are in place, they meet with their individual principals to share, discuss and obtain buy-in.
Lopez also advocated for the creation of school counseling vision and mission statements, along with a board policy to adhere to the ASCA National Model and a resolution to implement National School Counseling Week.
RAMPing Up
By fall 2016, with school counselors onboard at the other schools, Lopez focused more attention on data-informed programs at Livingston Middle School. At the time, the school’s eighth-grade graduation rate was 78%, far below the district goal of 95%. The school also had 2,660 detentions. Lopez formed a school counseling advisory committee, and together they updated the school’s graduation policy, addressing credit, behavior and citizenship requirements.
The school counseling team implemented student supports including developing classroom lessons, monitoring at-risk students, communicating with students and caregivers, and providing opportunities for credit recovery. They also increased school counseling awareness campaigns and participation in student activities. As a result, graduation rates increased from 78% to 94%, and detentions fell from 2,660 to 1,716.
Data also showed that only 40% of students were earning recovery credits during the allotted in-school time slots. After changing the schedule to occur during school breaks, an average 80% earned credit. Through schoolwide efforts such as attendance campaigns, assemblies and small groups, the team also reduced unverified absences by 15%, well above their goal of 5%.
As the district team worked to ensure they had all of their program components in place, Lopez encouraged them to apply for RAMP, knowing that the feedback they received would enable them to enhance their program, even if they didn’t achieve RAMP status the first time out. Lopez and Gonzalez went first and were thrilled when Livingston Middle School earned RAMP status in 2018. The other schools in the district soon followed, and by 2020 all of them had received the RAMP designation. Excited by her district team’s success, Lopez began reaching out to other districts, creating a school counselor network that spans 10 school districts and continues to grow. She also serves as a RAMP reviewer.
Perhaps what surprised Lopez the most in her district journey was discovering her strength as a leader. “All of the sudden I found this leader within me that I didn’t even know existed or that I didn’t even know I wanted to be.” She is now a member of the California Association of School Counselors board of directors, chairing the Bylaws Committee and recently serving as the vice president of middle schools. She also participates in the state’s Leadership Development Institute.
“The leadership opportunities that you have as a school counselor are an enormous responsibility and a great honor at the same time,” she said. “I do have a seat at the table and then it’s up to me how I want to use that seat at the table to help us move forward.”
Opening the Door
Like Lopez was growing up, most of the students at Livingston Middle School are potential first-generation college students, with just 12% of Livingston parents holding a college diploma. Helping students build a college mindset and reach their educational goals is paramount to Lopez, and she works diligently to help her students see college as a viable option.
An active member of her school’s Advancement via Individual Determination site team, Lopez led an effort to expand College and Career Night from a group presentation format focused on college requirements to a larger, more immersive event for all students and parents. Her collaboration with the University of California led to early access to the UC Scholars program, where students learn from a specialist about college options and admission requirements, and select eighth-graders continue on to build individualized academic plans and prepare for high school.
Although a firm believer in the power of quantitative, data-informed school counseling, it’s the qualitative stories Lopez tells about her former students that really paint a vivid picture of her program’s successes. She points to the kids at the University of California – Santa Cruz pursuing their education in game design, or the students who graduated from the University of Los Angeles or the Stanford University student who enthusiastically greeted the bus full of Livingston students on a college field trip. “Can a school counselor make a difference? Yes, absolutely,” Lopez said.
The pandemic has hit hard in her community, and Lopez has learned to be flexible in her program delivery, adjusting services as circumstances change and needs arise. Many in her school have either experienced the death of a loved one or know someone who has, and Lopez has increased her grief counseling in response.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Lopez took her game to another level by establishing a comprehensive counseling support plan,” said principal Jorge Arteaga. “Working with her counseling team, they have established a counseling referral system, direct services, indirect services and have organized a multitude of resources to support our students and families. Ms. Lopez has made sure that the social/emotional state of the students takes center stage.”
“It’s very real, and it’s very raw for people,” Lopez said. Living through this shared, collective trauma has made supporting each other and extending empathy and grace a little easier, Lopez said, and she is grateful for that silver lining.
Representation Matters
As the first Latina School Counselor of the Year, Lopez looks forward to furthering the conversation about the value of representation. “I’m extremely filled with pride at this opportunity, at this moment that I’m living,” Lopez said. “It is important to see people who look like you being successful and for it not to necessarily be a surprise or a shock.”
Recently, Lopez came across some pictures from her eighth-grade graduation. Among the usual pictures of posing with classmates, she spotted one with her dad, grandfather and grandmother in the background. It hadn’t registered much at the time, but as an adult looking at the photo, Lopez was struck by its poignancy – and the generational and literal journey reflected in the image. Her Mexican grandparents, now-deceased, had found a way to be there and see her graduate. “They made it to my eighth-grade graduation.” she said. “My parents didn’t have that experience. Obviously, my grandparents didn’t have that experience either. It was something that was important enough that they made it.”
Although her grandparents could have never imagined the educational and career heights Lopez would one day achieve, she hopes to awaken and nurture a different mindset in her students through her intentional advocacy. “Luckily, it worked out for me, but it shouldn’t have happened by chance,” she said of her own experiences. “It happens by having information, through education, and it happens by having access to opportunity.”
Lopez’s family story is one shared by many students in her community; their parents are in this country because they want a better life. “I’m just super proud of my family. Their sacrifice changed our trajectory,” Lopez said. She hopes she can do the same for her students, helping them fulfill the dreams and goals they have set for themselves. “Then they can have whatever future they can work hard toward achieving.”
Sí, se puede indeed.
Sandra Conrad is a freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas, who often writes School Counselor of the Year articles for ASCA.
The Spanish phrase, “¡Sí, se puede!” or “Yes, we can!” reverberates in her mind. The rally cry attributed to César Chávez and the farmworkers’ movement seems especially appropriate, given that Lopez is a school counselor at Livingston Middle School, a rural school of 804 students, grades 6–8 located in California’s agriculturally rich Central Valley. At Livingston Middle School, 86% of the students are Hispanic, 10% are Punjabi Indian and 4% are white or other. All students receive free or reduced-price lunch.
“Miss Lopez is extremely active in all aspects of our school and goes out of her way to be the voice for the students and people who do not often have a voice,” said Markella Tsatsaronis, teacher on special assignment/administrative designee. “She is a voice of reason, a kind human and the protector of students and their rights.”
A school counselor at Livingston Middle School since 2006, Lopez took on the additional role of district school counselor coordinator in 2015. Early on, she worked at the middle school while also serving as the sole school counselor at each of the district’s three elementary schools. Under her leadership, the district has expanded to five full-time school counselors, two at the middle school and one at each elementary school, and all schools in her district have attained RAMP status.
Colleagues praise Lopez for her ability to transform the school counseling landscape and promote a shared vision that supports all students in the district.
“It is because of her collaborative and supportive approach that counseling programs and services are valued by staff and embraced by students and their families,” said superintendent Andrés Zamora.
“Ms. Lopez is a hardworking, dedicated and sincere professional who does not shy away from challenges and opportunities in the best interest of students,” said Kujinder Sekhon, assistant superintendent of instruction and pupil services, Livingston Union School District (LUSD).
“Ms. Alma is passionate about school counseling,” said counseling colleague Wendy Gonzalez. “I do not think that I would be the school counselor that I am today if it was not for her mentorship, friendship and compassion.”
“Alma has been one of the most passionate and hard-working individuals I have encountered in our profession,” said Diego Castro, school counselor at Selma Herndon Elementary School, LUSD. “I truly appreciate all the support and advocacy she has provided.”
It Started with a T-shirt
Growing up, college simply wasn’t on the radar for Lopez. “Education had not been something our family fully understood,” she said. Her hard-working parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico with little more than a dream to build a better life for themselves and their family. Her dad, José Luis, had completed sixth grade and her mom, Elena Estela, second grade, which makes Lopez not only a first-generation college student, but a first-generation high school student as well.
Lopez fondly recalls the educators who went out of their way for her, such as the middle school principal who drove her and her sister to school or the seventh-grade teacher who wrote confirming messages on her papers, even when she missed the mark. “I ate it all up, and I believed it. He was probably the first individual in education who made me feel like I could achieve something more.”
In high school, Lopez saw a student wearing a Fresno State T-shirt and asked about it. “He told me his brother went there. That was the first time I really heard anything about college,” Lopez said.
It was an “ah-ha” moment for Lopez. She decided to apply to California State University – Fresno herself, figuring that if she didn’t get in, she would just get a job like she’d already planned. She was accepted, and her college journey began.
Lopez found her psychology classes interesting, and she enjoyed learning about human behavior and motivation. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she landed a job as an adoption social worker, an “unintentional” choice she says, driven by a need for a job more than a career calling. The job led to opportunities working in early intervention and prevention programs, and Lopez discovered she enjoyed being with students every day. “I loved being able to learn their stories and ask them questions about who they are and what their goals were for the future,” Lopez said.
She decided to make the switch from social work to a career in school counseling and obtained her master’s degree in school counseling. When looking for a school counseling position, she happened upon an opening at Livingston Middle School, in a town she knew from her days driving to and from college. She and the school administrators and faculty shared a vision for students, and she knew she had found a home.
As a new school counselor in a rural district, Lopez quickly realized the daunting, although rewarding, challenges ahead. She split her time between the middle school, where she worked with one other school counselor, and the district’s three elementary schools. At one point her student-to-school-counselor ratio was 2,500:1. “It was a little crazy,” she said. “I was a very Band-Aid approach.”
Unfamiliar with the ASCA National Model, which hadn’t been fully formed when she was in graduate school, Lopez knew she needed to put some structures in place if she was going to serve so many students. She started doing classroom instruction and small groups as she was able. “I was an ASCA-wannabe without knowing it.” When she heard about an upcoming ASCA Annual Conference, Lopez jumped at the chance to attend and convinced her school counseling colleague to join her.
She loved the conference’s focus on academic achievement, college and career readiness and social/emotional wellness. Equipped with the ASCA National Model book she purchased at the conference, Lopez returned eager to see what a comprehensive school counseling program could do for her students. She began to incorporate individual pieces of an ASCA National Model program at each of her schools.
Things changed dramatically for Lopez in 2015, when she learned from her superintendent that more funding was available, thanks to California’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which granted school districts more control of funds. Seemingly overnight, Lopez was in a position to influence the formation of a districtwide school counseling team.
As she articulated the role of the school counselor, Lopez described what the the district could accomplish with a truly comprehensive school counseling program. “With a school counselor in every building, we could start to bring some of those barriers down and increase access to information, resources and opportunity,” she said.
Initially, her superintendent agreed to hire one more school counselor, plus a replacement for her colleague who by that point had moved on to an administrative role. Shortly thereafter, the superintendent told Lopez the district planned to invest even more resources into school counseling – enough to have five full-time school counselors.
Sensing the opportunity before her, Lopez stressed the importance of hiring school counselors committed to implementing a comprehensive school counseling program, people who were caring, proactive, engaging and had a shared vision. The resulting team exceeded her expectations. “I found my people, mi familia,” Lopez said of her district colleagues.
When offered the school counseling coordinator position, she readily accepted, with the caveat that she could remain a school counselor. She attended that year’s ASCA Annual Conference to gain insights into leading the districtwide effort. Returning with an ASCA National Model book for each of her new colleagues, Lopez instructed them to bring it to every meeting.
As they worked on programs for their respective schools, the school counseling team developed an approach that continues to this day – planning out the year as a district team and aligning the school counseling goals to the district goals. “We have found great support because when you speak the same language, then people will listen,” Lopez said.
The school counseling team first reviews the previous year’s data, such as truant reports and grades. They also look at all of the pieces the principals are responsible for, such as the LCAP and site plans. Then they decide on their agreed-upon data markers for the upcoming year and incorporate themed initiatives, such as those in the ASCA monthly awareness dates calendar. Once their goals and plans are in place, they meet with their individual principals to share, discuss and obtain buy-in.
Lopez also advocated for the creation of school counseling vision and mission statements, along with a board policy to adhere to the ASCA National Model and a resolution to implement National School Counseling Week.
RAMPing Up
By fall 2016, with school counselors onboard at the other schools, Lopez focused more attention on data-informed programs at Livingston Middle School. At the time, the school’s eighth-grade graduation rate was 78%, far below the district goal of 95%. The school also had 2,660 detentions. Lopez formed a school counseling advisory committee, and together they updated the school’s graduation policy, addressing credit, behavior and citizenship requirements.
The school counseling team implemented student supports including developing classroom lessons, monitoring at-risk students, communicating with students and caregivers, and providing opportunities for credit recovery. They also increased school counseling awareness campaigns and participation in student activities. As a result, graduation rates increased from 78% to 94%, and detentions fell from 2,660 to 1,716.
Data also showed that only 40% of students were earning recovery credits during the allotted in-school time slots. After changing the schedule to occur during school breaks, an average 80% earned credit. Through schoolwide efforts such as attendance campaigns, assemblies and small groups, the team also reduced unverified absences by 15%, well above their goal of 5%.
As the district team worked to ensure they had all of their program components in place, Lopez encouraged them to apply for RAMP, knowing that the feedback they received would enable them to enhance their program, even if they didn’t achieve RAMP status the first time out. Lopez and Gonzalez went first and were thrilled when Livingston Middle School earned RAMP status in 2018. The other schools in the district soon followed, and by 2020 all of them had received the RAMP designation. Excited by her district team’s success, Lopez began reaching out to other districts, creating a school counselor network that spans 10 school districts and continues to grow. She also serves as a RAMP reviewer.
Perhaps what surprised Lopez the most in her district journey was discovering her strength as a leader. “All of the sudden I found this leader within me that I didn’t even know existed or that I didn’t even know I wanted to be.” She is now a member of the California Association of School Counselors board of directors, chairing the Bylaws Committee and recently serving as the vice president of middle schools. She also participates in the state’s Leadership Development Institute.
“The leadership opportunities that you have as a school counselor are an enormous responsibility and a great honor at the same time,” she said. “I do have a seat at the table and then it’s up to me how I want to use that seat at the table to help us move forward.”
Opening the Door
Like Lopez was growing up, most of the students at Livingston Middle School are potential first-generation college students, with just 12% of Livingston parents holding a college diploma. Helping students build a college mindset and reach their educational goals is paramount to Lopez, and she works diligently to help her students see college as a viable option.
An active member of her school’s Advancement via Individual Determination site team, Lopez led an effort to expand College and Career Night from a group presentation format focused on college requirements to a larger, more immersive event for all students and parents. Her collaboration with the University of California led to early access to the UC Scholars program, where students learn from a specialist about college options and admission requirements, and select eighth-graders continue on to build individualized academic plans and prepare for high school.
Although a firm believer in the power of quantitative, data-informed school counseling, it’s the qualitative stories Lopez tells about her former students that really paint a vivid picture of her program’s successes. She points to the kids at the University of California – Santa Cruz pursuing their education in game design, or the students who graduated from the University of Los Angeles or the Stanford University student who enthusiastically greeted the bus full of Livingston students on a college field trip. “Can a school counselor make a difference? Yes, absolutely,” Lopez said.
The pandemic has hit hard in her community, and Lopez has learned to be flexible in her program delivery, adjusting services as circumstances change and needs arise. Many in her school have either experienced the death of a loved one or know someone who has, and Lopez has increased her grief counseling in response.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Lopez took her game to another level by establishing a comprehensive counseling support plan,” said principal Jorge Arteaga. “Working with her counseling team, they have established a counseling referral system, direct services, indirect services and have organized a multitude of resources to support our students and families. Ms. Lopez has made sure that the social/emotional state of the students takes center stage.”
“It’s very real, and it’s very raw for people,” Lopez said. Living through this shared, collective trauma has made supporting each other and extending empathy and grace a little easier, Lopez said, and she is grateful for that silver lining.
Representation Matters
As the first Latina School Counselor of the Year, Lopez looks forward to furthering the conversation about the value of representation. “I’m extremely filled with pride at this opportunity, at this moment that I’m living,” Lopez said. “It is important to see people who look like you being successful and for it not to necessarily be a surprise or a shock.”
Recently, Lopez came across some pictures from her eighth-grade graduation. Among the usual pictures of posing with classmates, she spotted one with her dad, grandfather and grandmother in the background. It hadn’t registered much at the time, but as an adult looking at the photo, Lopez was struck by its poignancy – and the generational and literal journey reflected in the image. Her Mexican grandparents, now-deceased, had found a way to be there and see her graduate. “They made it to my eighth-grade graduation.” she said. “My parents didn’t have that experience. Obviously, my grandparents didn’t have that experience either. It was something that was important enough that they made it.”
Although her grandparents could have never imagined the educational and career heights Lopez would one day achieve, she hopes to awaken and nurture a different mindset in her students through her intentional advocacy. “Luckily, it worked out for me, but it shouldn’t have happened by chance,” she said of her own experiences. “It happens by having information, through education, and it happens by having access to opportunity.”
Lopez’s family story is one shared by many students in her community; their parents are in this country because they want a better life. “I’m just super proud of my family. Their sacrifice changed our trajectory,” Lopez said. She hopes she can do the same for her students, helping them fulfill the dreams and goals they have set for themselves. “Then they can have whatever future they can work hard toward achieving.”
Sí, se puede indeed.
Sandra Conrad is a freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas, who often writes School Counselor of the Year articles for ASCA.