Fayette’s school counselors celebrated their craft and honored their colleagues during the ninth annual Fayette School Counselors Association (FSCA) Installation of Officers and Awards Ceremony.

Each year the association seeks nominations from members, teachers and administrators for those who are always going above and beyond the call of duty to help students excel at each academic level. One counselor of the year is selected from the elementary, middle and high school level. The 2009 counselors of the year are (elementary) Linda G. Williams, Brooks; (middle) Dionne Maddox, Flat Rock and (high) Sonya Tucker, McIntosh.

In addition to naming counselors of the year, the organization recognizes a non-counselor who has worked hard during the year to advance counseling programs and services at an individual school or system wide. This year’s advocate of the year award was presented to Diann Ferrante, secretary for CARE (Children at Risk in Education).

During the ceremony, the association also installed its 2009-2010 officers: Kaye Eubanks (Open Campus) president elect; Linda G. Williams (Brooks Elementary) president; Brenda Cannington (Bennett’s Mill Middle) past president; Kelly Hubbard (Robert J. Burch Elementary) secretary; Tama Matthews (Flat Rock Middle) treasurer; Stacey Patterson (Crabapple Lane Elementary) elementary school vice president; Dionne Maddox (Flat Rock Middle) middle school vice president and Hope Huey (McIntosh High) high school vice president.

Fayette has three counselors who have made the decision to retire this year. Each has dedicated at least 30 years of service to the field of education and has impacted countless students, parents and coworkers. The following retirees were honored by the association: Susanne Pinkley, Oak Grove Elementary; Fanita Duvall, Fayette County Alternative School; and Winkie Greenhaw, Sandy Creek High.

School counselors at all levels provide valuable services to students and their families as well as faculty and staff. On a daily basis they are involved in character education, violence prevention, career planning and much more.

Counselors are professional educators who understand and respond to the challenges presented by today’s diverse population. They don’t work in isolation; rather they are integral to the total educational program. They provide proactive leadership that engages all stakeholders in the delivery of programs and services to help students achieve school success.

Professional school counselors align with the school’s mission to support the academic achievement of all students as they prepare for the ever-changing world of the 21st century. This mission is accomplished through the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive, developmental and systematic school counseling program.

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