STORY PRODUCED BY CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE
Michigan has the second-worst student-to-counselor ratio in the country, according to the American School Counselor Association.
The ratio of students to counselors was 573-to-one during the 2023-24 school year, more than double the 250-to-one ratio that the association recommends.
The only state with a worse ratio was Arizona.
And that’s bad news for students, experts say.
The association, based in Grand Rapids, says that the three main duties of a counselor are to support students academically, support students emotionally and prepare them for their next steps after high school.
Michigan School Counselor Association president-elect Bethany Gravert says that the ratio of students to counselors makes it difficult to effectively fulfill these duties.
“How can you provide good mental health support, good emotional, learning and academic support to 570 students?” Gravert said. “And, know their name, know what their career goals are, know intimate details about their life that would allow you to better support them.”
Gravert was a counselor in the Grand Rapids Public School district.
She says that students there often did not meet with a counselor before high school.
“That matters when the main role of a school counselor is to support academic success, social emotional learning and career readiness,” Gravert said. “So that’s 14 years of their life without potentially receiving those interventions.”
In 2017, legislation was passed requiring counselors to complete 50 hours of professional development specific to college and military to renew their counseling license.
Gravert says that mandate puts more strain on counselors.
Generally, districts provide such professional development opportunities for staff.
However, it becomes difficult for schools to provide that when there are few counselors in the district.
“Where are counselors accessing that learning?” Gravert said. “They have to find online opportunities or travel and pay for it out of pocket.”
That also leaves counselors less time to focus on students.
Gravert says that time management is already a problem in many districts because counselors are given additional tasks.
“Things like running testing, handling discipline or truancy, secretarial work, substituting in classrooms and doing lunchroom duty all take away from a school counselor’s ability to meet with students,” Gravert said.
Gravert says that also hurts students because they don’t get the counseling they need.
“Students succeed when they feel like there are people who care about them,” Gravert said. “And the more students you pile on to a school counselor, the harder it is for a student to feel like that.”
The president of the Michigan Community College Association, Brandy Johnson, says that career advising in high schools needs improvement.
“Career exploration, career planning, career advising at the high school level is frankly very, very weak,” Johnson said.
Brandy Johnson is president of the Michigan Community College Association. Credit: Michigan Community College Association. Under state law, “all students are required to develop an Educational Development Plan (EDP) with guidance from school advisors,” according to the state Department of Education website.
“EDPs are ‘living’ documents, updated as student interests and abilities become more obvious and focused. All students must be provided the opportunity to develop an EDP during grade seven, and then time to review and revise every year through grade 12,” the department said.
But Johnson says the mandate isn’t well-enforced, which is not a meaningful way to prepare students for the future.
“When talking to students from high school, a lot of them don’t remember they did that,” Johnson said. “They probably didn’t.”
