From Feb. 2 to Feb. 6, schools across Rhode Island celebrated National School Counseling Week by honoring school counselors and their efforts to support students’ social, emotional and academic needs.
“School counselors do a lot more than we think they do — it’s important to recognize how vital they are to the education system,” Aysha Facey, a student at East Greenwich High School, wrote in a message to The Herald.
Gina Silvia, senior director of school counseling services in the Providence Public School District, explained to The Herald that the weeklong celebration allows counselors to educate the community about the important roles they play in schools.
Holly Ruskaup, a high school counselor specialist for the PPSD, added that the week provides counselors with an opportunity to come together and “share pride in our work.”
School counselors “work through their lunches, they stay late (and) they get here early,” Melissa Lipa, a school counselor at Mount Pleasant High School, told The Herald. Lipa was awarded the title of Rhode Island’s 2026 School Counselor of the Year as part of National School Counseling Week.
“It’s great to have that week for (counselors) to be recognized for everything that they do,” she said. “It’s not that they ever look for it, but it’s great to be able to have someone say, ‘Hey, happy school counselors week.’”
As part of the counseling week, 12 PPSD staff members and counselors participated in the new Commissioner’s Counselor Program, a collaboration between the Rhode Island Department of Education and the College Board that aims to improve counseling in Rhode Island, PPSD spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez wrote in an email to The Herald.
As mental health struggles among students continue to rise, school counselors are increasingly important, Lipa said. “I have never seen as much need” for social-emotional learning, she added. “We’ve had the highest number of students with anxiety since COVID.”
Lipa largely attributes growing mental health needs to increased cell phone usage. “Cell phones have created a society of people that don’t build deep relationships with their peers,” she said, adding that this lack of connection has led to increased anxiety.
Students “could be sitting right in a room right next to each other, and they’re just texting each other,” she said. “They’re not building those deep relationships.”
While counselors appreciated the celebration of National School Counseling Week, some wished there were additional counselors in PPSD elementary schools.
“When you have the magnitude of the high needs of our students, you need to have a better ratio than a 250-to-one ratio,” Lipa said, referencing the American School Counselor Association’s recommended student-to-counselor ratio. Many students are homeless or experiencing troubles at home, so having enough counseling support is crucial, she added.
“We try to be as close to that 250:1 ratio at the secondary level” as possible, Torres-Perez wrote to The Herald.
While the PPSD was able to place counselors at all elementary schools after COVID, sustaining those counselors in the long term was “not financially feasible,” Torres-Perez wrote, adding that the district prioritized placing counselors at middle and high schools.
“It’s such a disservice to our students, because those counselors were doing such great work,” said Michele Bergantino, an elementary and middle school counselor specialist for the PPSD.
Torrez-Perez added that a shortage of counselors is a national problem, and the PPSD is one of the only Rhode Island school districts with elementary school counselors. At elementary schools, students “continue to receive support through a dedicated team of school psychologists and social workers who address a wide range of social, emotional and behavioral needs,” she wrote.
In addition to mental health support, counselors also help students create academic and career plans.
Facey described their school counselor as a “huge supporter” of both their educational and emotional needs. “She’s helped me navigate my high school and post-high school planning as a first-generation student,” they said.
According to Ruskaup, counselors in the PPSD serve many first-generation students. Educating and exposing students to various career pathways is “exciting, invigorating and rewarding work,” she said.
When students graduate and transition to college or to their careers, “knowing that they’re successful, and knowing that we have a part in that, is truly a gift to all of us,” Ruskaup added.
“School counseling offices are the safe place for our kids,” she said. “That’s where they feel that they have a shoulder to lean on, that someone’s going to be on their side.”
Nate Barkow is a senior staff writer for the Youth and Education beat and a co-chief of The Herald's social media team. He is from New York City and plans on concentrating in International and Public Affairs and Education Studies. In his free time, he loves trying new restaurants and watching Survivor.
