Letter to the Editor: Counselors in PUSD

I became an educator in Pasadena Unified School District twenty-three years ago, the district where I was educated- a graduate of Blair High School. I have held various positions in the district and I am currently a high school counselor. PUSD is proposing to eliminate counseling ratios in secondary schools. Students in grades 7-12 presently have counselors to help them navigate their teenage years and select the most appropriate educational program to achieve their goals. PUSD highlights 10 pathways within the district as a way to engage students during high school while preparing them for college and careers. The desire is to make our schools more attractive to families whose children attend private and charter schools. “All students prepared for college and career” is the identified goal in PUSD’s Strategic Plan. Yet the decision to increase counselor loads to an arbitrary number decreases the number of personal contacts students would have with academic counselors.

According to the California Department of Education, in the 2014-15 school year PUSD had 8,118 students in grades 7 -12. Nearly, 6,000 students came from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Their plan to eliminate counselor ratios diminishes higher education opportunities for all students and particularly those who require targeted services. PUSD receives specific funding for such students with the Local Control Funding Formula. PUSD must state in their Local Control Accountability Plan how they are providing appropriate and sufficient resources and staff for youth who are underprivileged and disadvantaged. The rate of students meeting A – G Requirements will not increase from less than 44% with this proposed change to counselor staffing. Instead this proposal creates a systemic barrier for youth trying to traverse through high school and prepare for a 4 year post-secondary institution. PUSD cannot move from good to great with the current leadership’s position on counselors and how to support its diverse student population at the school sites.

Allison Steppes, Ed. D.
Altadena Resident