With End-of-Grade (EOG) tests fast approaching, Gina Montague ’17MED, Powell Center for Play and Ingenuity Magnet Elementary School’s school counselor, stepped into a third-grade classroom to teach a lesson on how students can navigate the big emotions they might experience while taking their exams.
What she didn’t realize was that the lesson was also the opportunity for a surprise announcement. At one point, Montague was called out of the room and when she returned, it was filled with her family members, fellow teachers and staff celebrating her as the Wake County Public School System School Counselor of the Year.
“That was pretty special,” Montague said.
Montague is the school’s only school counselor, and she was honored for implementing a strong, comprehensive school counseling program that serves all students.
“To receive the recognition, it was just very validating,” Montague said. “It told me that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and that all my hard work has paid off and that the students are really benefiting from it.”
Montague said she felt prepared to become a rigorous advocate for young people due to the coursework and field experiences she took part in while earning her master’s degree in the NC State College of Education’s school counseling program.
“A lot of people who are not in this field think that school counselors do a lot of administrative duties, and that’s really not the case,” Montague said. “NC State knows that, and they really prepare you for the counseling part of school counseling.”
For Montague, that often means interacting directly with students, whether that’s through teaching lessons or engaging in group or one-on-one counseling sessions.
“I love that they feel like I’m someone they can rely on when they’re dealing with something,” Montague said.
While she emphasizes the importance of building personal relationships, Montague also utilizes data to better support students’ needs and wellbeing. She has been so effective in doing so that, earlier this year, Powell Magnet Elementary received a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) Award from the American School Counselor Association, which recognizes schools committed to delivering a data-informed school counseling program.
“You have to show that you have 10 different components in your school counseling program that are all data driven and that you implement and carry it out to fruition,” Montague said. “To get approved to be a Recognized ASCA Model Program was a big deal.”
Alongside her day-to-day work as a school counselor, Montague has also taken on a number of additional responsibilities. She leads the school’s social and emotional learning (SEL) behavior committee and serves as part of the school’s specialized instructional support personnel (SISP) and school improvement team.
“I have a million ideas,” Montague said. “My school knows me pretty well at this point and lets me carry out those ideas.”
As Wake County’s School Counselor of the Year, she hopes to continue to implement data-driven practices that make her school an even better place for students to learn, while also advocating for the school counseling profession as a whole.
“I just really want people to know how important school counselors are,” Montague said. “There’s at least one of us at every public school in Wake County, and we do a lot, and sometimes we do a lot behind the scenes, but it’s all for serving students.”
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