Pearland ISD counselors win CREST award; district framework aims to spread program model

Superintendent Berger hosted an episode of the Pearland ISD “Building Blocks” podcast to recognize Carlson school counselor Tara LeMaire and Rustic Oak school counselor Landry Angel for earning the CREST award from the Texas School Counselor Association.

The CREST award — an acronym for Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas — asks counseling teams to document mission alignment, set measurable goals across four counseling domains and track progress over a school year. "It's like a living, breathing process, to demonstrate or show the effective communication and commitment to obtaining results," said Tara LeMaire, Carlson school counselor.

The award recognizes program-level work, not a single counselor’s actions, LeMaire and Angel said. "We've used it as a tool to empower ourselves and our programs to also tell our story and, showcase the good that's going on at each of our campuses," LeMaire said. Landry Angel, Rustic Oak school counselor, added: "We are planting the seeds, and we are trying to help children communicate, have those social skills, building that character. And it's ... it takes everyone."

Counselors described what the CREST application required and how they used it. Applicants outline campus, district and counseling missions; perform a needs assessment; create a goal for each of the four counseling domains; and track measures showing whether goals were met. The district provides training and a template framework, which both counselors said reduces the paperwork burden for other elementary counselors.

Program details discussed on the podcast included service models and caseload challenges. LeMaire said guidance lessons now occur about once a month for every class, up from once every nine weeks earlier in her career. Small-group counseling typically runs 6–8 weeks with weekly meetings. Counselors described campus sizes ranging from about 450 to 800 students and said an ideal counselor caseload is commonly cited as about 250 students per counselor; speakers said some campuses in the district are serving roughly 660 to 750 students per counselor, which they described as spreading staff thin.

Both counselors credited district leadership and cross-campus collaboration. The podcast referenced trainings and resources from district staff — including "Doctor Moore" and "Doctor Nixon" — that counselors used to shape trauma‑informed practices and staff workshops; a campus staff member referred to as Miss West asked counselors to deliver trauma‑informed learning during teachers’ conference periods. LeMaire said the district-convened sessions and shared materials let counselors adapt training to their campuses and then share it with teachers and parents.

The counselors urged schools and parents to view school counseling as a proactive, instructional program rather than a reactive "catchall." They highlighted the role of community partners — for example, Community in Schools — in organizing parent-focused events such as health fairs. LeMaire said the CREST documentation also serves as an advocacy tool so counselors can present clear goals and progress to campus advisory committees.

Both counselors said their CREST plans are posted on the district website so other counselors and community members can review them. They encouraged counselors who have not applied to "lean in" because, as Angel put it, "they're already doing all the work. This is just showcasing it, and it becomes such a great advocacy tool."

Superintendent Berger closed the episode by thanking the counselors and noting the CREST recognition highlights counseling work across Pearland ISD. The podcast episode concluded with a reminder that counselors' classroom lessons, small groups and individual interventions are intended to support students' social skills, attendance and school engagement over time.