Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In an era of mounting mental health challenges and academic pressures, Polk County’s school counselors and social workers are getting a boost thanks to a timely grant from the Polk County Community Foundation.

The foundation’s support is providing these frontline professionals with essential resources and training opportunities for the 2024-25 school year.

The grant’s impact extends beyond mere financial support, offering counselors something equally valuable: connection. “As the only counselor at my school, it’s rare to spend time with others who understand the challenges and rewards of our profession,” said Monica Barber, a counselor at Sunny View Elementary.

“It was also great to meet counselors from different areas and hear about the various issues they are facing. The best quote of the conference, ‘Anger is the bodyguard of fear,’ reminded me of the importance of addressing underlying emotions in our work with students. This experience has left me feeling inspired and more connected to the counseling community.”

The foundation’s support includes annual memberships to both the American School Counselor Association and the North Carolina School Counselor Association (NCSCA), providing counselors with access to nationwide resources, training, and professional networks. Additionally, the grant covered expenses for all school counselors and social workers to attend the NCSCA Annual Conference in Concord in November.

For Ashley Bell, a counselor at Polk Central Elementary, the conference offered practical strategies she’s already putting to work.

“This year at the conference, my focus was to attend sessions that focused on specific programs and strategies to build the tier one component of my school counseling program and our school,” Bell explained. “Since attending the conference, I have met with my administration team at my school to discuss how to implement some of these elements in the upcoming school year.”

The impact of this professional development extends to every corner of the district. At Tryon Elementary, counselor May Rikard found particular value in learning new approaches to student support. “I gained valuable strategies for supporting dysregulated students in the classroom and learned effective ways to engage diverse families,” Rikard said. “These insights will help create a more inclusive and welcoming culture for all at Tryon Elementary.”

The significance of this support isn’t lost on the counselors, who recognize that such opportunities are rare. “We recognize that other school districts do not have the chance to go to the school counseling conferences, and we are so thankful that we get this opportunity,” said Katie Montgomery, counselor at Polk County High School.

The program has gained attention beyond county lines. Buffy Weathington, school counselor at Polk County Middle School and Western Region VP of NCSCA, recently highlighted the foundation’s contributions in a statewide newsletter. She praised both the foundation’s financial support and the collaborative efforts of the county’s counselors, particularly noting Meghan Mauldin’s work at Polk County High School in coordinating grant requirements.

In today’s educational landscape, where mental health and academic challenges continue to grow, the foundation’s sustained support enables these student services professionals to provide the high-quality support that students and families increasingly need. Through professional development, networking opportunities, and resource access, Polk County’s school counselors and social workers are better equipped than ever to serve their community’s evolving needs.