A system of support
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of articles marking the 50th Anniversary of Hartselle City Schools.
On July 17, 1986, the Hartselle Enquirer ran an article entitled “Elementary Counselors Provide Asset to Schools” that pictured Hartselle High School counselors Jane McClanahan Wilcoxson and James Prater as well as Hartselle Junior High School counselor Wilsolene Vice Cadman. The article touched on the kinds of services counselors provided to students at the secondary level, but it introduced readers to the idea of providing elementary students with support from counselors, as well. Then-Superintendent Dr. Lee Hartsell was quoted in the article as saying, “I would love to have elementary counselors here. Counselors can help teachers identify problems at an early age,” and added that an elementary counselor can “help students with study problems [as they] adjust to being in school.” At the time, the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) had published a booklet outlining the need for counselors at the elementary level. The booklet asserted that counselors were needed to “assist in the early identification of intellectual, emotional, social, and physical characteristics of students. They can then aid in the diagnosis and remediation of learning problems and can assist in the early development of career awareness and occupational exploration.” Then-HJHS Counselor Wilsolene Vice Cadman added that elementary counselors could “work with students on study skills, getting along with others, and coping with peer pressure [to better] face problems in later years.” Flash forward to 2003, and the ALSDE published the Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance State Model for Alabama Public Schools based on a national framework for schools to determine the needs on their campuses and then find resources and develop strategies to address those needs. Using the model, school counselors can be certain they are considering all areas of need as they arrive at those where they want to focus their resources.
Today, Hartselle City Schools is fortunate to have counselors on every school campus available to students and families across all grade levels. Once they reach grade 7, students also benefit from the efforts of career coach Cory Wilbanks who works to create further opportunities for career exploration.
And in addition to the support that counselors provide at the schools, HCS also partners with the Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama to provide deeper and more targeted counseling for those students whose families believe they could benefit from the professional help.
Hartselle’s families can reach out to their children’s school counselors.
The ALSDE indicated in its 2003 guide that schools should strive to “better prepare students to meet the challenges and demands of the school setting as well as prepare them for success beyond high school.” Dr. Hartsell believed in this in 1986, and Hartselle City Schools aspires to the same today.
