KHS started the 2018-2019 school year with two educational support counselors but now does not have any. KSD, in partnership with BJC, has been going through the hiring process for new educational support counselors since early this school year. Educational support counselors are outsourced by BJC and sent to KSD through a block grant program. According to Dr. Michael Havener, KHS principal, KSD has little control over how quickly the process is completed due to the fact that BJC facilitates the process.

“It’s a critical role,” Havener said. “We need to have someone in that role to help support our students and our staff. I’m hopeful that it’s going to be filled very soon.”

Havener said although the hiring process was set to be complete by Thanksgiving break, KSD has not filled either of the two educational support counselor positions at KHS.

KSD hired a social worker through the same BJC block grant program who, according to Havener, is responsible for helping students who may need resources outside of what the school can provide. 

According to Joe Fisch, grade level counselor, educational support counselors provide students who are in need of the most emotional support with a resource within the school. Fisch said this responsibility in the absence of an educational support counselor falls on the grade level counselors who must accommodate to help the most at-risk students.

Grade level counselors are not specialists in helping these students and often refer students to resources outside of the school, according to Fisch. Fisch said the absence of an educational support counselor makes getting help difficult for students in need of additional emotional support because there is not a resource within the school to provide such support adequately.

“We want to help those kids in any way we can,” Fisch said. “But we also have to realize that there’s only so much [grade level counselors] can do.”