Celebrating Alaska Excellence

Alaska School Counselor of the Year
 
Congratulations to the AkSCA 2019 school counselor of the year, Erin Hamilton (at left in photo) from Service High School. Erin has demonstrated outstanding service in her school and contributions to the field of school counseling. She has exhibited professional leadership and has demonstrated competence as a school counselor. Erin represents both personal and professional growth and exemplifies the best in school counseling. We are so proud of you!


 
Alaska School Counselor Advocate of the Year
 
Superintendent John O’Brien of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is the Alaska School Counselor Association (AkSCA) Advocate of the Year. This award recognizes a special individual or group for their assistance in furthering the mission of school counselors in Alaska. The Advocate of the Year may have developed or implemented a new program that affects the well-being of students and staff, initiated improvement in counseling services, or provided outstanding opportunities for school counselors’ professional growth. The recipient of this award represents true advocacy for our profession.
 
"This recognition by our state's school counselors is perhaps one of the most meaningful awards that I have received in my career as a professional educator,” O’Brien said. “Our school counselors play such a vital role in the social and emotional well-being of our students. They build capacity in our schools by assisting our teachers, support staff, and school administrators to understand the importance of educating the whole child.” 
 
Skyview Middle School counselor Natalie Kant wrote in the nomination for O’Brien, “I have worked in the KPBSD for 30 years. Throughout my time with KPBSD, I have seen Superintendent O'Brien always support school counselors. As Director of Secondary Education, he oversaw all of the district counselors for four years. Through his leadership and district influence, counselors' voices have been heard. He worked on removing non-counseling duties from counselor's plates, and his efforts led to school counselors no longer having to be school assessment coordinators. He allowed school counselors to create a district evaluation tool that aligns with the ASCA National Model. This evaluation tool continues in our district. Because of his continuous support of school counselors, Skyview Middle School and Soldotna High School have become RAMP (Recognized American School Counseling Association Model Program) schools. Making history, these are the first ever RAMP schools in the state!” 

One Vision, One Voice

Join approximately 3,600 school counseling professionals in Seattle, June 27–30, 2020, for four days of inspirational keynote sessions, informative breakout sessions, in-depth looks at hot topics in the school counseling profession and networking opportunities.

 

Thank You, Past AkSCA Presidents