They’ve been told they’re not good enough to achieve their dreams, have waited prolonged periods of time to get help, have had their class attendance prioritized over their mental state, and have felt disregarded (or even blamed) for their struggles.

While the counseling department is supposed to help navigate the struggles of teenagers, many students say they’ve struggled to receive support from their counselors.

After hearing the stories of frustrated students, principal Jeff Legan thinks students have every right to feel upset. Legan said, “As I’m always looking to improve things and make things better… if it’s four out of the five counselors— I mean, it’s an issue, regardless— but if it’s one particular counselor or two particular counselors, then that’s when training and professional development can further assess the issue.”

According to Legan, school administrators have considered the potential of hiring a school psychologist or social worker dedicated to the more-serious emotional needs of students. He said, “There really aren’t enough hours in the day [for guidance counselors] to address everything… and that’s sad, because we want every student to feel that they are important, and I really don’t want students to feel like they’re only one out of 300 other kids [in their grade].”

Laura Kraft, the counseling department secretary, also believes getting more staff on the guidance team will help make the counseling office more of a safe place for students. She said, “I know we need more help up here, and I know [administration’s] working on it. Hopefully [it happens] because we really need to have another counselor here to chat with these kids because absolutely the students need help here.”

Counselor for the class of 2023, Mia Bourdakos, said the job of a guidance counselor is unpredictable. She said, “I would say this position here is like working in an ER. You just don’t know on any given day how things are going to be and what’s going to happen. So, you could have the best plan laid out— say you’re going to focus on 504’s, or College Board, or something else— and then something happens [with a student] and it takes up your entire day, so you just have to be super flexible.

“Again, the students come 100% first, and everything else we just need to take care of later. That’s just how it goes,” Bourdakos said.

Legan confirms his goal is to prioritize student well-being. He said, “My number one priority is I really want kids to feel comfortable being here. I want them to grow as individuals, and I want them to feel supported, whether it’s their guidance counselor that’s providing that or their classroom teacher.”

According to Bourdakos, the counseling department has an open-door policy and all students are encouraged to enter. She said, “You can talk about whatever you want [here]. Everything is confidential (unless you are going to hurt someone or yourself, or if someone’s hurting you)… and [we want students to] realize that they don’t have to feel like they need to spill everything… [we want to] meet them at their needs.”

Bourdakos estimates that 80% of students who stop by to see her need some kind of social-emotional support. Kraft, who sees every student who enters the office, said, “Some days you might not see any [distressed students], which is a beautiful day, and other days you may have ten. So, on an average, it’d probably come out to two or three a day.”

The counseling department offers other support services that may be unknown to students. Bourdakos said, “We are connected with Bellfaire, which does wrap-around services with our kids in terms of counseling… [and] we also have a lot of community involvement with local organizations that help our [students’] families.”

In the off-case the entire department is unavailable for whatever reason, Bourdakos mentioned there are other high school staff members who can offer assistance in the event of serious distress or an emergency. She said, “Mr. Rico (Excel TECC assistant principal) has a counseling degree, as does Mr. Mulheman (MHS assistant principal), so they can also offer support in that aspect.”

Kraft admits she’s empathetic for students who enter the office with social-emotional needs. Kraft said, “I, myself, would be horrified if I was a teenager in high school right now, [so] I try to talk to kids who want to open up and chat with me, and that’s worked here and there, and some kids don’t want to talk, so I just let them have some peace and quiet.”

For students who have had negative experiences in the counseling office, Legan said he wants to help them. He said, “If people come in with concerns, their names do not need to be mentioned. I will never share their name with anyone, but if I don’t know how people are feeling, and if I don’t know what some of the issues are, I can’t [help]. [Just know] that if there is an issue, I am going to address it and make sure that it gets better.”