Greenwood parents and teachers urge board to keep counselor as district reworks guidance staff

Maureen Keach, a Greenwood Elementary teacher and parent, told the Kennett Consolidated School District Board of School Directors on June 9 that the district’s plan to reassign Greenwood’s long‑time counselor would deepen instability at the school.

Keach said Greenwood students are facing “more change and uncertainty than ever” and argued that “you cannot replace 14 years of trust and connection with a staffing change.” Her remarks came during a public‑comment period dominated by Greenwood parents and staff who urged the board to keep experienced counselors and protect small class sizes.

The speakers described Greenwood as the district’s largest elementary and said it is carrying a heavy share of the district’s specialized needs amid active construction of a new school building. Several speakers told the board the district had notified staff on June 2 that Greenwood counselor Tia Ennis would transfer to Kennett High School; Keach said Ennis has worked at Greenwood for 14 years and is “a pillar in our building.”

Why it matters: Greenwood parents and staff said the timing and cumulative effects of construction, frequent principal turnover and growing class sizes mean the school needs continuity in counseling and other supports. The board approved an assistant principal position for Greenwood on the same agenda, saying the role is intended to provide more instructional and behavioral leadership at the school.

What speakers said: Steve Lewinsky, speaking as a Greenwood parent, pressed the board for specifics about the counseling reorganization. “The high school has five counselors, one for every 240 students. Greenwood has close to 600 students per counselor,” he said, asking the administration to explain why a counselor would be moved from Greenwood when Greenwood’s counselor‑to‑student ratio appeared far worse than the high school’s.

Colleen Corrado and Monica Strausser, both Greenwood parents, emphasized Ennis’s role as a trusted adult for students and the harms of raising kindergarten class sizes from six sections to five, which the speakers said would increase typical class sizes to about 26 students. Corrado also urged the board to consider Greenwood staff for leadership openings at Greenwood rather than moving them out of the building.

Jennifer Lewinsky, co‑president of the Greenwood PTO and a Greenwood substitute teacher, said classroom crowding and substitute shortages can leave classrooms split among other teachers on days without available substitutes, increasing class sizes in practice to the low 30s on some days.

District response and board action: Superintendent Doctor Iza Saunders (on the record as “Doctor Rizzo Saunders” in meeting materials) told the board the district is conducting a review of counseling services as part of a guidance‑plan revision (the “3.39 plan”) and that any transfers will follow board policy 3.09. The district presented the counseling reorganization as informational at the meeting; no transfer motion of any individual counselor was voted on that evening.

Separately, the board moved and approved the creation of an assistant principal position at Greenwood Elementary. Doctor Iza Saunders said Greenwood has 572 students, approximately 26% with an IEP or 504 plan, about 44% eligible for free or reduced lunch, and roughly 20% identified as ELD; administration said the assistant principal hire is cost neutral and would be funded by savings elsewhere in administrative staffing. The motion carried unanimously.

Context: Multiple speakers tied the counseling concern to broader issues at Greenwood: ongoing construction of a new elementary scheduled to open in 2026, frequent principal turnover (several speakers cited three principals in four years), and already large class loads and high proportions of special‑education and ELD students. One speaker referenced the American School Counselor Association guideline of approximately 250 students per counselor in arguing Greenwood’s counselor workload exceeded recommended levels.

Ending: Board members thanked the public for attending and for the Greenwood community’s engagement. Several speakers asked the board to seek community input on any administrative reassignments going forward; board members indicated the assistant principal position could be posted immediately and that administration would continue meetings about the district guidance plan.