February 4-8 has been celebrated as National School Counseling Week.

This nationwide week of honoring these individuals was created to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within the U.S. school systems.

Gina Robbins, department chair of guidance and counseling department for the R-9 school district, has served as the school counselor for Fairview Elementary School for six out of her seven years with the district.

“Counselors have tons of different hats,” she said. “We’re helpers in the biggest sense of the word. Counselors are like a PR position because you have to have a good or poor with everyone in the school. If people don’t trust you, then how can you help? Building relationships is the biggest part.

“The more (students) see us, the more accessible we are to them, otherwise we’re just another face in the crowd. You have to be everywhere, and ready for anything.”

Nancy Capstick, school counselor at Steadley Elementary School, said her influence spreads much farther than the students.

“(Counseling) means being able to help children through emotional problems, support for the parents, the teachers, helping give referrals to agencies, it’s really a support system for the school,” she said. “The elementary levels are years of key development for cognitive thinking. The earlier interventions begin, the better off you are.”

At the junior high level, school counselor Brad Hunt says his position involves the unexpected.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “We’ve got five elementary schools coming together here at the junior high, and I’ve always enjoyed the seventh graders coming up here because they’re so excited to start their next level.

“Everyday is different. The issues the kids face, well, you never know, and that’s what I like about it. I’m pretty passionate about my job.”

Hunt, who has been counseling for approximately 15 years, said each level of education has its challenges.

Next year, as the students move to the new high school, Hunt will act as a transition counselor to the students moving up.