Most school counselors have few or no counselor colleagues at their school, so the union’s 20th annual School Counselors Conference provided a valuable opportunity to come together, share stories and make connections.

“I know what it’s like to be the only counselor in the building,” said Tiffany Hooper, of MS 80 in the Bronx. “But we’re not alone. We’re one of a tribe.”

The 250 school counselors who packed union headquarters in Manhattan on March 16 enjoyed a full day of professional development workshops, networking and fellowship with other counselors.

“Today we invite you to experience the camaraderie of your fellow members, to meet other school counselors, to share best practices and to make friends,” said School Counselors Chapter Leader Rosemarie Thompson in her morning greetings.

The mood was festive as UFT members celebrated the wins for school counselors in the 2023 contract, including more control over their schedules and up to 55 minutes of remote work per week to complete administrative duties and paperwork.

“The respect this group should have had all along is finally coming to fruition,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told those gathered.

School counselors selected from a menu of six professional development workshops in the morning and six in the afternoon.

Ada Galan, of PS 24 in Brooklyn, took a workshop on emotional self-regulation in elementary school. “It was helpful to understand that every student has an emotional baseline,” she said. “We all start in a different place.”

School counselors are facing two major challenges this school year: the aftermath of the pandemic and the influx of newcomers.

The pandemic has had a sustained impact on students’ mental health. “We’re dealing with kids who are having trouble coping, focusing and problem-solving,” said Thompson.

The sheer volume of children from new immigrant families enrolling in New York City public schools is a new pressure on school counselors, who are often trying to provide clothing, food and language support to entire families.

Misha Thomas, a co-founder of the Sanctuary Institute and the keynote speaker, noted that school counselors are trying to do their jobs at a difficult cultural moment. But he encouraged attendees to stay focused on the areas where they can make a difference. “We don’t have to wait for the system to change to make small local changes,” he said.

Many attendees said a critical part of their job is to consider the whole child, not just their academic performance, and to serve as the liaison among the student, the family, teachers and administration.

As Mulgrew said about his time as a teacher, “Without the counselor, I couldn’t have done my job.”