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2016 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 139
Commending the 30th anniversary of elementary school counseling in Virginia.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, February 4, 2016
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 12, 2016
 

WHEREAS, elementary school counselors work with countless students in individual and small-group counseling to help their charges attain skills crucial for success in and out of the classroom; and

WHEREAS, elementary school counselors serve an integral role in education by encouraging students to know and understand themselves, to develop effective interpersonal and communication skills, to learn problem-solving, conflict resolution, and effective study skills, and to gain career awareness; and

WHEREAS, elementary school counselors consult and collaborate with parents, teachers, and school administrators to help create school environments that stimulate growth and learning; and

WHEREAS, elementary school counselors work with students from diverse populations and with students with disabilities to integrate those students and promote policies and behaviors that reflect freedom from stereotypes; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 1,225 elementary school counselors deliver these vital student services in grades K-5 throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Elementary School Counseling Association, a division of the Virginia Counseling Association, was established in 1975 to work toward a state mandate for elementary school counseling; and

WHEREAS, with the support of the Virginia General Assembly and Governor Gerald L. Baliles, the Board of Education resolved to phase in elementary school counseling in all of Virginia’s public elementary schools over a four-year period beginning in 1986; and

WHEREAS, staffing levels for elementary school guidance counselors were added to the Virginia Standards of Quality in 2002, requiring one hour of counseling availability per day per 100 students, one full-time counselor per 500 students, and one hour per day additional time per 100 students; and

WHEREAS, the successor organizations of Virginia Elementary School Counseling Association, the Virginia Counselors Association and the Virginia School Counselor Association have worked tirelessly for more than a decade to support elementary school counseling throughout the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend elementary school counselors in Virginia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of elementary school counseling in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the Virginia Counselors Association, the Virginia Alliance for School Counseling, and the Virginia School Counselor Association as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the hard work and dedicated service of all elementary school counselors in Virginia.