This week marks National School Counseling week, a time originally set aside for celebration but perhaps should be one meant for mourning.

Kentucky’s school counselors play a critical role in providing the academic, professional, and social/emotional development and guidance that many students lack outside the school — leveling the playing field and working to close the academic achievement gap. Yet counseling offices are chronically understaffed and overworked, making it impossible for counselors to do their jobs effectively.

Historically, counselors have been overlooked by policymakers — not thought of, not consulted, and not represented in the decisions that affect them.

But Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt is making intentional efforts to turn the tide. He has helped create a new, state-level position to give representation to school counselors in Frankfort and to advise counselors across the state.

The move comes not a moment too soon.

The American School Counselor Association recommends 250 students for every one counselor, yet in Kentucky, the average counselor had a 453-student caseload in the 2014–2015 academic year, 203 students above the national recommendation.

In Kentucky, the average counselor had a 453 student caseload in the 2014–2015 academic year, 203 students above the national recommendation.

The problem becomes especially acute as students prepare to make the transition from high school to college and careers.

Aspart of an effort to understand barriers to college readiness, the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team spent a school year surveying and listening to seniors and recent graduates across the commonwealth about their experiences preparing for life after high school. Among some of the key themes that emerged in our resulting book, Ready or Not: Stories from the Students Behind the Statistics, is that the Kentucky has a school counseling crisis.

Half of the nearly 600 Kentucky high school seniors we surveyed in five geographically diverse schools reported feeling like they have not had a meaningful discussion about steps to college or career readiness with their school counselor.

And the students we spoke with directly underscore the scope of the problem.

Joseph, a first semester senior from Eastern Kentucky who had dismissed college as a viable option, was among the first to alert us.

“Someone asked me if I had seen a counselor,” Joseph said, “and I responded, ‘We have counselors?’ I’ve heard of the mythical legends of school counselors, but I’ve never actually spoken to one.”

“We have counselors? I’ve heard of the mythical legends of school counselors, but I’ve never actually spoken to one.”

We later heard from Alice in Louisville who told us that even while her school manages to create a strong college-going culture, the counselors are up against some daunting odds and expectations. “Counselors write recommendations for every student and are always open to having one-on-one discussions about college,” she said. “However, we only have four counselors for our two thousand students, so most students don’t get to know their counselor very well.”

At a time when big budget cuts to education loom in Kentucky, it may be tempting to dismiss further investment in school counseling as a luxury we can’t afford. But that’s when it’s helpful to remember what we heard from students who told us a school counselor made all the difference in their postsecondary projections.

Suzie from Western Kentucky credits her counselor with propelling her to become the first in her entire family to even aspire to college. “My counselor used his story to help others, and I want to be that person one day,” she told us.

Another senior from South Central Kentucky laid out a detailed plan. When we spoke with her, Heather was thick in the process of applying to a career and technical school and strategizing about taking some general classes that are more affordable there before transitioning to the University of Kentucky for a four-year degree. “I would never have been this organized if it weren’t for my career counselor at school,” she said. “She is absolutely astounding. I would be a mess if it wasn’t for her.”

In denying students access to quality guidance by understaffing offices or saddling fewer counselors with greater administrative duties and more limited budgets, policymakers widen opportunity and achievement gaps. The de facto devaluation of counselors’ work means Kentucky students lose a source of support imperative to improving their trajectory within and well beyond high school.