Student mental health has been a major concern, as kids returned to classrooms post-pandemic. But many schools are operating with fewer counselors than recommended. Now, nearly $5 million in federal grant money will help Nashville’s Lipscomb University train up dozens of new counselors.
Lisa Davies is program director for Lipscomb’s school counseling program. She said many K-12 students are struggling with things like depression, especially after the pandemic.
“Isolation. Problems, you know, dealing with social media,” Davies said. “That, in turn, brings on more anxiety, feelings of inadequacy.”
That’s just one example of the issues school counselors help address. She said they also help kids cope with traumatic situations, like the loss of a loved one or unstable housing. And school counselors prepare students for life after graduation.
The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students for every school counselor in the building. Tennessee had been relatively close to meeting that mark in the 2020-21 school year, with about 300 students per counselor. But in 2021-22, the ratio ballooned to 458 students, the largest increase in the student-counselor ratio in the country, according to Education Week.
Davies said the federal grant funding will lower the barriers for local educators who want to support students as counselors.
“So many educators within the school, whether it’s a teacher, whether it’s a teaching assistant, they want to become school counselors,” Davies said. “But they cannot simply afford to take on another degree.”
The program will work similarly to Tennessee’s Grow Your Own initiative. It allows employees in five school districts to pursue their masters degrees tuition-free, while still earning their regular paychecks.
Lipscomb has partnered with the following districts, based in part on what portion of kids come from low-income families and the student-counselor ratio:
- Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
- Rutherford County Schools
- Maury County Public Schools
- Lebanon Special School District
- Hickman County Schools
The university will receive $4.8 million over the course of five years. That’s expected to train 80 new school counselors and hire a new faculty member to the program. It represents the largest grant in Lipscomb’s history.
The award is part of a broader federal push for school-based mental health services. The U.S. Department of Education announced this week it will also award grant money to the University of Memphis. Overall, the department expects more than 500 new school-based mental health professionals to be hired in Tennessee thanks to federal investments.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM