While it may feel like our counseling staff switches it up more often than Miley Cyrus makes headlines, it’s important to remember that our counselors are people, too.
WS has a bit of a reputation for having a lot of counselor staff turnover, and it can get confusing and sometimes annoying for students who have had a new counselor practically every year, or even two counselors in one year.
“Everybody says you want to get close to your counselor,” said junior Sophie Shidlovsky. “But it’s kind of hard when you get a new one every year. You keep having to form new relationships, which is okay I guess, but it’s also kind of hard.”
What some students fail to take into account, however, is that our counselors have lives, too.
For students, it may seem like they are being abandoned halfway through their high school journey, but they forget that their counselor’s time at WS did not start at the same time theirs did. Our counselors have careers and families to think about, on top of their responsibilities to their students.
One such counselor was Jeff Stahl. He switched to another county closer to his home at the end of the 2014-2015 school year. After 10 years at WS, Stahl left behind many heartbroken students.
“It’s easy to look at it and think there’s something wrong, but I think the reality is that people are pursuing new and exciting opportunities,” said counselor Katy Sokolove, who’s been here for four years. “Everybody who’s left has left for a good reason.”
Another staff change is the absence of Jennifer Knox, who was Dean of Student Services until her departure last June. Knox is now an administrator for interagency schools, and has been temporarily replaced by counselor Braden Peterson, a longtime member of the Guidance Department, until they can find a permanent replacement.
“For continuity’s sake, having someone that is already on the ship take the helm for a while was easier and wiser for the school,” said Peterson.  Exactly how long is a “while”? It’s unclear. The current estimate is until the end of October, while a panel at the central FCPS office sifts through a mile-high stack of resumes and conducts the extensive interview process. The ultimate decision lies with the assistant superintendent of our region.
“It’s kind of confidential,” said Sokolove. “On our end of it, we’ll find out around the same time the students find out.”
After the new Dean of Student Services has been found, Peterson will return to his position as a counselor for students with the last name E-HI. This may become stressful for seniors, as he is scheduled to return during the height of the college application season, when students heavily rely on their counselors to be dependable.
“I think the reason students feel the changes so much is that unlike your teachers, who naturally you leave after a year, counselors have a longer influence,” said Sokolove. “The idea is that they’ll be with you for four years…but people have lives and things going on, and that’s just becoming unrealistic.”
One thing is for sure: WS counselors care about their students. Their goodbyes are bittersweet, with them being just as sad to leave as students are to see them go. No matter who a student’s counselor is, they’re guaranteed someone who will make every effort to make their high school experience go as smoothly as possible.
“There is nobody here that doesn’t want to be here,” said Peterson. “We love being Spartans.”