Newberg counselors present comprehensive school counseling program; board to consider policy updates

Newberg School District counselors on Tuesday presented a districtwide Comprehensive School Counseling Program and asked the board to support adopting related policy updates.

The counselors, who said the plan aligns with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and Oregon School Counselor Association (OSCA) models, described work to move counseling from a reactive “guidance” model to a proactive, standards‑based program focused on social‑emotional learning, college and career readiness, and academics. "We are a small portion of our school district K‑12 counseling team, and we're just so thankful to be able to come and share with you how we support students and student success," said Jen, school counselor.

District leaders told the board the draft program is detailed in the board packet and will be linked to policy IJ (School Counseling Program). Superintendent Dave Parker said the counseling program document is planned to become an administrative regulation that will sit alongside policy IJ; the board will see final, clean versions of those materials in the next packet and can adopt them in the consent agenda if there are no further questions.

Counselors described the program's components: classroom instruction, small groups, individual counseling, crisis response, data‑driven planning, and community partnerships. Margaret, school counselor, summarized the document's sections and where to find them in the packet, noting program resources, timelines and forms are linked in the online version. The counselors said the program also aligns with the Oregon Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (T‑CELL) framework and CASEL standards.

Presenters emphasized operational limits and equity gaps. Counselors said the district currently employs 14 counselors across K‑12, with two part‑time positions; there are no bilingual counselors in middle school and limited Spanish‑speaking mental health staff overall. "We don't have any bilingual counselors in this district. None," one counselor said, describing how language limitations force reliance on referrals and remote interpreter setups for Spanish‑speaking students.

They also reported that middle school counselors spend a significant portion of time on tasks that ASCA does not recommend, including 504/IEP case management and building‑level operational duties, which reduces time available for direct student counseling. Counselors said they performed a time‑task analysis and found middle school schedules were approximately 50/50 between ASCA‑recommended duties and other tasks; elementary and high school schedules were closer to the recommended allocation.

Board members and counselors discussed standards for caseloads and the district’s long‑term goal of RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) alignment. Director Wolfer asked about counseling staff supports for crisis situations and was told the district offers six free counseling sessions to staff, and counselors are working to build peer clinical supervision and PLC structures.

Superintendent Parker and board members praised the counselors’ work and said policy IJ and the comprehensive school counseling program will be brought back as an administrative regulation and placed on the consent agenda for adoption at the next board meeting unless directors request further changes.

Ending: The board did not take formal action on the program at Tuesday’s meeting; counselors asked the board to review linked materials in the packet and prepare questions ahead of the next meeting. The district will present finalized, clean copies of policy IJ and associated ARs in the next packet for board consideration.