Counselor Corps

Four of McClain County’s six school districts are among 181 districts across the state to share in grants totaling $35.7 million.

The grants, awarded by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, will enable the districts to hire school counselors and school-based mental health professionals through the 2023-24 school year.

The grant program is called the Oklahoma School Counselor Corps and disburses federal relief funding the state received due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the largest initiative under Ready Together: An Action Plan for Supporting Students through the Pandemic and Beyond.

The McClain County recipients are Newcastle, $478,000; Blanchard, $126,000, and Purcell and Washington, $96,000 each.

In addition, Lexington in Cleveland County is receiving $96,000.

“Schools have wrestled with inadequate numbers of counselors and mental health professionals for far too long,” said Joy Hofmeister, state school superintendent. “Oklahoma children suffer from a higher rate of trauma than children in most other states and the pandemic has only exacerbated such adversity.

“These grants can bring transformational change to schools, some of which have not had a single school counselor. With academic success dependent on student well-being, this marks a critical investment for our students.”

The state’s current student-to-school counselor ratio is 411 to 1, Hofmeister added.

But the American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 to 1.

Districts applied for the grants to fund approximately half the cost of salary and benefits of qualified positions.

In total, the 181 districts have requested 222 school counselors, 36 licensed social workers, 54 licensed mental health professionals, four recreational therapists and 42 contracted services.

For its past, the OSDE will hire five regional positions to support the corps with training and professional development.