* Names with an asterisk have been changed to preserve anonymity.
Seven academic counselors, a variety of specialized programs through Clear Recovery and the South Bay Children’s Health Center (SBCH), three psychologists, substance abuse counselors and a Wellness Center—a myriad of counseling resources exist to bridge the gap between students and mental health support.
But even with these varied services, the demands of a 3,000+ student population and an on-going national youth mental crisis make it difficult for students and counselors to reach each other.
The problem: Counselors are overwhelmed.
Twenty-five minutes. That’s all the time academic guidance counselor Arond Schonberg estimates that he has to counsel individual students. And students feel the effect.
Senior Hannah* reflects on her experience meeting her academic guidance counselor.
“When I got here in freshman year, I expected my counselor to be one of those familiar faces on campus who I can turn to, but they never really got into contact and I eventually found that in other people,” Hannah said. “When most of my friends or I have problems now, we don’t turn to our counselors because we don’t really know them. We see them yearly for scheduling and that’s about it, which is why I wish I established a relationship with them in my freshman year.”
Hannah’s experience is not unique. In a survey of over 250 RUHS students, only 51.2 percent of students think their counselor knows who they are and only 40.1 percent of students report speaking with their counselor about anything other than scheduling this year.
“Most of the time, they don’t reach out to us, but it’s also a very slow process when we reach out to them. I think it’s generally understood on campus that you can reach out to them but a lot of the time nothing really happens, so people find support elsewhere,” Hannah said.
According to Hannah, many students eventually assume their counselors have other priorities. However, as reported by three counselors, Schonberg, Alice* and Melanie*, they would like to be more involved in student engagement but are obligated to complete other tasks.
“It becomes a math problem. I might have a 504 or Individualized Education Plan [IEP] meeting [to discuss learning goals for students with disabilities], which can take around two hours to prep for and complete. We might have three of those in a day, and that’s six hours,” Schonberg said. “Those meetings are obviously important, but I could’ve spent that time checking in with a ton of students. Add other meetings, parent concerns, scheduling duties and everything else to that and it becomes very busy.”
According to Melanie, counselors have previously expressed concern over the amount of administrative work they are assigned. But, reassigning these tasks (e.g. coordinating school-wide individual education and planning meetings for 504 plans, both of which the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) cite as “inappropriate activity for school counselors”) isn’t easy.
“There’s this nice list [from the ASCA] of what counselors should and shouldn’t do, but if we don’t hold these meetings, who will? Some schools have an IEP or 504 coordinator, whose sole job is to hold these meetings, but we don’t. We’ve proposed the idea, but it hasn’t gone through and we recognize that hiring new counselors is difficult,” Melanie said.
"If we don't hold these meetings, who will?"
However, this proposal did go through at Parras Middle School. Mental Health and Wellness Counselor Rachel Andrews, previously an academic counselor at Parras Middle School, explained that the Parras counseling team held similar concerns to Redondo counselors. The counselors discussed their overwhelming amount of administrative duties with the district and together, they worked to decrease the counselors’ administrative workload (IEP meetings, attendance and supervision.)
According to Dr. Nicole Wesley, the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, there is no defined job description for counselors in RBUSD. Because of this, nowhere in writing does it say how much of the counselors’ time should be spent on behind-the-scenes work like 504 or IEP meetings, but Principal Anthony Bridi, Assistant Principal Kyle Garrity and Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD) Executive Director of Student Services (SS) Anthony Taranto feel that counselors should keep attending IEP and 504 meetings.
“Some students need additional support, and those supports [IEP and 504 meetings] are necessary for counselors to keep in place,” Bridi said. “The counselors are involved in all aspects of their students’ lives so I feel that it is important for them to fully understand the needs of IEP and 504 students they counsel.”
Regarding the idea of hiring additional counseling staff, Bridi pointed out that RUHS currently has the highest number of counselors in school history. Bridi also highlighted the extended counseling staff whom he encourages students to “seek out.”
“We have many counselors who specialize in specific departments, which many other schools don’t have. We have around fifteen professional counselors, more if you count the interns. So, in that aspect, the ratio would be different,” Bridi said. “If needed, and if allowed by taxpayers, I’d love to hire more counselors.”
Students are referred to these extended mental health counseling services if a member of the staff deems it necessary based on a tier system. According to Garrity, Tier 1 is designated as “when a student is having a bad day,” where a student should seek out their academic counselors or teachers. Tier 2 is described as for when a student is deemed “at risk” with “two or more heightened anger and defiance issues.” In this case, the SS team are brought in with the counselors to speak with the student or a referral is made for the student to go to the Wellness Counselor. Tier 3 is when a student is “unsafe to themselves and includes instances of self harm or drug usage.” Designation of Tier 3 will, depending on the situation, result in a referral to meet with a school psychologist, a therapist or the substance abuse counselor. Garrity says that the tier a student's situation falls under is determined by the staff who “do their best.”
Garrity and Bridi also cite the Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) team, composed of staff members, “find new ways to create a more positive campus,” along with professional development meetings to train teachers to aid students. Andrews explains that at Parras, meetings were used to make teachers “trauma-informed,” and that Redondo is not yet “trauma-informed” but “hopes to be soon.”
Overall, Bridi states that he is proud of the mental health services offered at RUHS but acknowledges that “there’s still more to do.”
The general lack of individual student connection and engagement, the three counselors interviewed said, has disappointed some counselors who went into the field with the goal of connecting with students. Melanie said her job is “a lot of behind-the-scenes” work that, although important, “isn’t what [she] signed up for” and isn’t what they taught in her education. While the three counselors believe this work doesn’t inhibit their ability to respond to crises or urgent student issues, it does impede their ability to generally engage with students more.
“I’d love to get into the classroom more and show students who the counselors are, not because we have to but because we want to,” Schonberg said. “About 10 or 15 years ago, when the English classes would read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ or ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ the counselors would go into classes and wrap up the book with lessons on the importance of racial tolerance or talking about depression. We are actively involved in student achievement, but I think sometimes we’re seen as a separate entity. Being more visible would assure a lot of students that we’re here and supportive.”
"We are actively involved in student achievement, but I think sometimes we’re seen as a separate entity. Being more visible would assure a lot of students that we’re here and supportive.”
According to Hannah, she and her friends would likely reach out to their counselors more if they were more visible on campus.
Redondo’s academic guidance counselors, excluding the extended mental health services, oversee around 440 students each. The ASCA recommends 250 students per academic counselor. This disparity is not unique to RUHS: neighboring schools’ ratios are also above the recommendation (according to their websites, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School’s ratio is 335:1, Mira Costa High School’s is 490:1, and West High School’s is 495:1) and the state-wide average is 527:1, according to the ASCA.
Melanie said that the unanticipated amount of behind-the-scenes work is an experience most academic guidance counselors experience upon obtaining the job. Schonberg explained it stems from both a lack of understanding of what counselors are trained to do and a lack of having someone else to perform these tasks.
“When people don’t know what our qualifications are, they see tasks that seem related to counseling, and then those tasks get assigned to us and become our priority. We get really busy,” Schonberg said. “I was trained to be almost a therapist, addressing emotional challenges impeding classroom success. Then I got here and they said, ‘You’re the administrative designee for IEP’s. You have to do 504’s and know about college,’ and I was just wondering, ‘Where are all the students that are hurting and need my attention?’”
A solution: The Wellness Center
Recently, many students in need have sought help from the newly-established Wellness Center. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the district allocated money to the center’s creation, where students can come in and obtain mental health support. The center was inspired by one in Palos Verdes High School.
The Wellness Center offers various support groups, holds numerous events and consists of two meeting areas equipped with couches as well as diffused essential oils, coloring books, a Keurig, fidget toys and other supports. Students can make an appointment by scanning the QR code on the center’s door, visiting the Redondo Union website or through a link on the center’s Instagram page (@ruhswellnesscenter).
In addition to Andrews, student interns from California State University, Long Beach and Loyola Marymount University, along with a school psychologist from Patricia Dreizler Continuation High School, are present to speak with students. SBCHC therapists are also on campus approximately 20 hours a week to provide free therapy for any RBUSD student, or students may visit the center.
For sophomore Jack*, who attends weekly appointments at the Wellness Center, the center has been “very helpful.”
“It’s definitely nice to have somewhere to specifically talk about my mental health more,” Jack said. “I talk to Mrs. Andrews, who I’ve talked to since middle school, a lot. I’ve been going since first quarter and it’s a great place to hang out and just chill.”
The center helps students, but it is “booked and crowded,” according to Andrews. As a result, some students, such as Lisa*, have found it difficult to enter the center in times of crisis.
“One day, I was really upset and was bawling my eyes out. I tried to go to the Wellness Center, but I was told to leave because somebody else was in a session,” Anna said. “Of course, client confidentiality is important, so I get why they couldn’t have me in there. But for times of crisis, I wish there was a sitting room or at least somewhere in the Wellness Center to be until someone can talk to you. You basically have to schedule your mental health breakdowns.”
"You basically have to schedule your mental health breakdowns.”
Echoing Anna’s concerns about the Wellness Center’s accessibility, Andrews states that she wants to expand the Wellness Center to accommodate more students. In addition to the problem of overcrowding, Andrews says, she sometimes has a “hard time” getting teachers to send students to the center despite their receiving a blue slip calling for the student.
“I don’t want to interrupt classes, but when I call for a student to come [to the Wellness Center], it’s usually because the situation is urgent,” Andrews said. “I think we’ve come a long way in terms of addressing students’ mental health. But, if we want to create a culture where mental health is valued, then it should be a priority. Not letting kids come when they need it creates a mental health stigma and makes kids think, ‘I guess my mental health isn’t that important,’ which we of course don’t want.”
The Wellness Center’s charter was set for two years. According to Bridi, the district will “evaluate its benefit to students,” and, if proven useful, Bridi will look into finding funding past the two years. In cases of emergency, any student can “come into the office and help will be provided,” Bridi says.
For now, Andrews hopes to continue aiding students and making the Wellness Center an “accessible and supportive place.”
“Our school administration is amazing about students’ mental health, but there’s still so much we can do to help students. Especially after the pandemic, it’s become a really prevalent issue,” Andrews said. “We need to prioritize supporting our students.”
"We need to prioritize supporting our students."
Credits:
Wellness Center photo by Elise Haulund