School Counselors as Compassionate Change Agents: Strategies for Building Safe, Inclusive and Thriving Educational Spaces Amid National Tragedies

On September 4, 2024, at around 10:30am, I was sitting in a counseling team meeting reviewing final logistics for our department’s planned classroom lesson about making postsecondary choices, when I received a text notifying me of the school shooting in Winder, Georgia. At first glance, I tried to dismiss it, with the plan of processing it later . . . until I sat in my chair, frozen. I have family there. I realized that this shooting hit home on that day. I was desperate to know if my relatives were affected by this incident. Thankfully, within two hours my family notified me that they were fine. However, students across this country have had to face such horrendous incidents in their buildings, leaving many questions including “How can this be stopped?” and “What can be done to prevent it?”

This personal account helps fuel the fire as a school counselor to be a compassionate change agent of stopping trouble and working to ensure that school is safe, thriving, inclusive and comfortable, a place in which all students are welcomed and feel they belong. Our role as school counselors must be at the forefront with our administrative teams, district leads and parents to work together to maintain a school environment in which students can make happier lasting memories.

A number of school districts in Illinois over the years have implemented strategies to proactively and reactively address various issues such as bullying, behavioral problems, mental health concerns, and external threats. Here are a handful of great strategies that counselors can help champion in their buildings:

• Promote Respect and Inclusivity
  School staff can work together in utilizing classroom SEL lessons to foster an environment where diversity is respected, and students feel included regardless of race, gender, ability or background.
• Student Leadership
  Encourage students to take ownership by creating peer mentoring, buddy systems and student-led initiatives that promote a sense of community and responsibility.
• Behavioral Monitoring and Support
  Use behavioral data to identify students showing early signs of disruptive behavior and provide timely interventions such as small groups.
• Restorative Practices
  Encourage students to understand the consequences of their actions and repair harm caused with healthy dialogue led by counselors, social workers, deans and restorative practice champions.
• Awareness Campaigns
  School-wide workshops and assemblies on recognizing and preventing bullying, for both students and staff, can help everyone stay vigilant.
• Counseling Services
  Have trained mental health professionals available on campus for students who may be dealing with anxiety, grief, trauma, depression or other emotional challenges.
• Building and Expanding Staff/Student Relationships
  Students and staff can benefit from healthy, positive student/staff relationships in which students feel connected to at least one trusted adult in the building. This will increase awareness of any potential threats or student concern for which they are unsure of how to get help.

Implementing strategies is a shared effort in which all stakeholders can take a piece. As school counselors, we can be the voice that advocates for our students’ right to experience their education within walls that are welcoming, compassionate, empathetic, inclusive and thriving. Our students are worth it.

Contact Andrea Allen-Moore, of Gage Park High School in Chicago and ISCA assistant board chair, at anallen@cps.edu.