The School District of Belleville celebrated National School Counseling Week last week, which focuses public attention on the special contributions school counselors make on a day-to-day basis within their school systems nationwide. This year's theme is School Counselors: Helping Students Dream Big.

District Administrator Nate Perry says, "There are 120,000 school counselors serving 50 million students in grades K-12 throughout the country, and they play a critical role and have a tremendous impact helping students achieve school success and plan for a career."

School counselors work daily with students and their parents, and collaborate with other school staff to support student success and, in Belleville, the work of three counselors is deeply felt among its learning community. Counselors choose this professional field for many reasons, but as we interviewed Belleville's counseling team of Stephanie Levenhagen, Melanie Norton, and Rebecca Makovec, it is clear that there is a common theme in their professional goals – the desire to help youth succeed!

Stephanie Levenhagen notes, "I chose to be a school counselor so I can help students navigate the complexities of middle school life and offer them support during challenging times." Stephanie is in her second year of service working for the School District of Belleville and enjoys her work as a counselor for grades 5-8. She teaches lessons, facilitates group work and meets with individual students in her role for the district, while also looping with teachers and administration to make sure students have all the support they need to be successful.

For Melanie Norton, now in her sixteenth year in the district serving as the Belleville High School Counselor, she finds that she most enjoys her work with students. She says, "When someone leaves my office better than they came in; I can't always fix it, but hopefully I can give them the tools or at the very least a caring smile." Knowing that you have someone to talk to as you are coping with all the things a high school student needs to address in today's world is instrumental for many trying to find their way through to accomplish their goals. Melanie understands this and finds dedicated time for her students amidst all the other things she does behind the scenes – like testing; scheduling; graduation; college/career applications; transcripts; and scholarships. Beyond that, one cannot forget the social/emotional learning (SEL) side of Mrs. Norton's job – as her daughters aptly say, "Help people when they are sad."

In Rebecca Makovec's world, not many people know how many lives she touches. Rebecca says, "Something surprising about my role is that I connect with over 300 students every week." She is now in her fourth year working as the Belleville Elementary School Counselor. She entered the profession because she truly cares. Rebecca notes, "I wanted to be that unwavering support for kids that I was lucky to have in my life." In a job where she gets to see daily smiles and receive hugs for the work she does, she knows she has the opportunity to help students overcome challenges and celebrate with them when they do! She teaches empathy, compassion and conflict-resolution skills in her daily work with students in the hope that they can be "good humans," as she puts it.

Photo courtesy of Marie Perry

Belleville Elementary School Counselor Rebecca Makovec.

In an effort to "dream big," students need all the support they can get; and, with a staff of counselors like Stephanie Levenhagen, Melanie Norton, and Rebecca Makovec, the Belleville Schools are well equipped to help their students achieve their goals. "You're only as good as the people you have around you," says author John C. Maxwell; so, having a dedicated staff looking out for our youth as they set goals is a key factor in making future success for today's kids. In this department, Belleville is lucky to have such a caring group of counselors aspiring to make their students' lives the best they can be and to Stephanie, Melanie, and Rebecca, they say – "Thank you for the work you do!"