Rockwood proclaims National School Counseling Week; coordinator outlines staffing, ratios and program priorities

The Rockwood Board of Education unanimously proclaimed February 2026 as National School Counseling Week and then heard an in-depth update from Matt Berry, the district’s coordinator of school counseling.

Berry described a comprehensive, equity-focused counseling program aligned to MTSS, emphasizing data-driven planning, required Tier 2 small-group interventions, and an "80/20" time-use goal intended to keep roughly 80% of counselor work focused on direct or indirect student services. He said the program uses SchoolLinks to support academic planning and college/career readiness and highlighted efforts to reduce time spent on non-student-facing tasks by streamlining documentation and referrals.

Board members pressed Berry on counselor-to-student ratios and staffing. Berry and board members noted the national/state recommendation is approximately one counselor per 250 students; the district is "close" at middle school but further from that ratio at high schools, and some gaps reflect unfilled positions rather than policy differences. Berry said increasing staffing is important but also emphasized ensuring counselors work to the model (direct student services and program implementation) to maximize impact.

The board also recognized recent hires announced earlier in the meeting: the board approved hiring Dr. Carrie Skeeters as assistant superintendent of teaching and learning and Brent Pearson as assistant principal at Eureka High School; both will start July 1. Superintendent Dr. King reminded the community to report safety concerns and noted two recent incidents at West Ridge Elementary where staff and protocol helped resolve the situations quickly.

What’s next: The district will continue monitoring counselor staffing and use-of-time data (collected in October and March) and expects to revisit staffing needs during budget and staffing cycles. The proclamation passed by voice vote.