Parents and advocates urge fewer standardized tests and more school mental-health counselors

At the April 28 meeting of the Greenville County Board of Trustees two public commenters urged changes to district practice: a parent criticized frequent online multiple-choice testing and a community advocate asked the board to adopt a formal mental-health counselor staffing ratio.

Britton Swingle, a parent of two Greenville County students, told the board that the district 's move toward online multiple-choice testing appears aimed at preparing for the once-a-year SC Ready test. Swingle said teachers can and should create regular classroom assessments that require critical thinking rather than repeatedly practicing multiple-choice formats; Swingle called such engaged assessments "the meat on the plate of learning."

Dr. Jeff Lawson, who identified himself as a member of Gold Justice's mental health committee, commended Trustee Morrison Fair's counsel and asked the board to adopt a specific staffing standard to support students and implement the district's bullying policy. Lawson asked the board to adopt a ratio of one mental-health counselor for every 300 students, specifying "3 mental health counselors for every middle school, 2 mental health counselors for every high school, and 1 mental health counselor for every elementary school." He said the request was endorsed by about 1,200 representatives from 29 area churches at a April 9 Nehemiah Action meeting.

The board did not take an immediate action on either request during the meeting; according to the public comment guidelines read by Vice Chair Miss Moseley, staff will be designated by the superintendent to respond to speakers in an appropriate and timely manner.

The transcript records the comments and the staff-response commitment but does not document any direct board reply or adoption of the requested counselor ratios.