North Kansas City Schools outlines plan to add counselors, expand training and staff wellness programs

North Kansas City Schools officials presented a multi-pronged plan April 15 to increase staff capacity to respond to students' social and emotional needs by adding counselors, expanding targeted professional development and creating sustained employee wellness supports.

The plan, presented by Dr. Johnson and Dr. Porter, centers on three strands: staffing (reducing counselor caseloads at the high-school level), quality professional development for both classified and certified staff, and wellness and belonging supports for employees.

District leaders said the immediate staffing goal is to move each high school toward a counselor-to-student ratio of roughly 1 to 350 within about two years. Officials said adding one counselor at Staley High School lowered each counselor's caseload from about 500 students to roughly 417. Oak Park and Northtown high schools are reported to be just under 450 students per counselor; Winnetonka was described as "in a really good spot" and not slated for additional counselors at this time.

Why it matters: High-school counselors are responsible for postsecondary planning, identifying students at risk of falling off-track for graduation and maintaining ongoing caseload oversight; district presenters said those duties make the school-counselor ratio a priority separate from other behavioral and…