The New Westminster school district is being asked to fund more counsellors in schools next year.
District parents and staff called for more counselling time for students as they made budget presentations to trustees at the School District 40 board meeting on April 25. The presentations were part of the district's budget process; it also held one-on-one meetings with its unions and the district parent advisory council (DPAC) to get their ideas for 2023-24.
DPAC chair Laura Kwong said the district needs to increase access to mental health and wellness supports for all students.
She said middle school and high school students are facing challenges booking appointments to see counsellors when they need them.
Currently, the B.C. Ministry of Education and Child Care provides funding for counsellors to meet a ratio of one counsellor for every 693 students.
The New Westminster district already has more counsellors than that funded ratio, which Kwong acknowledged.
“We know that our ratio of counsellors to students in our district is greater than the ministry-mandated ratio,” she said. “But the ministry-mandated ratio is the floor, not the ceiling, and it is well below what is needed.”
New Westminster Teachers’ Union president Kristie Oxley added her voice to the call for more counsellors.
She said the problem is particularly acute at New Westminster Secondary School. Oxley noted a guidance counsellor position at the high school this year has been useful in helping students with academic issues such as timetables. scholarship applications and information about post-secondary education — which has freed up counsellors to spend more time directly supporting students.
She said the union would like to see either additional counselling time or additional support alongside the guidance teacher to give students more access to counsellors.
More counselling time is also needed for schools across the district, she said.
“We realize that the district does staff in counselling above the mandated ratio, but it’s really important for students to be able to have that access to counsellors, and so this would be one area where we would like to see additional staffing,” she said.
Kwong also suggested the district needs more resources to help students with drug-related concerns so those issues don’t take away from counsellors’ time with students.
Feedback from parents and staff will help to guide the superintendent’s budget recommendations to the board. Karim Hachlaf will bring those recommendations to trustees at their Tuesday, May 2 operations committee meeting.
The board is expected to pass its 2023-24 budget at its May 23 meeting.
📢 SOUND OFF: Do New West schools need more counsellors? Is the ministry providing enough funding for counselling in schools? What changes would you like to see? If you're a student, parent or staff member with ideas to share, send us a letter.
