An Interview with Megen Stair, 2018 FSCA School Counselor of the Year
By: Lauren Malone, 2018-2019 FSCA Emerging Leader
Since you first started working as a school counselor, how have you evolved personally in your role?
I learned so much! I’m so blessed to work in a fantastic department and with other counselors who have shown me the way. I get more excited every day when I see kids achieve and I love thinking of new ways to help.
How has your role as a school counselor changed since you first started?
There is just more and more support of student’s mental health needs! Anxiety and lack of coping skills are on the rise. It is nice to see staff/ faculty more aware of these issues as well.
Now that you have attained RAMP, what are your goals for your school counseling program?
Keep working! We are really proud of the program and want to keep improving it. We want more information out and to get more kids into the program.
What encouragement can you offer to school counselors thinking about pursuing RAMP?
RAMP is a great way to evaluate their program with a clear rubric and national model. RAMP gives clear guidelines of what a comprehensive plan should look like; you have the backing of the national program to significant stakeholders, teachers, and parents.
What advice would you offer to new school counselors?
Keep an open mind; you will be learning every day! And think about the whole child
How can school counselors advocate their role in their schools and district?
Data, data, data! Having clear, SMART goals and a system for collecting data coupled with having a way that you share that data with stakeholders is critical.
What excites you about school counseling today?
We need someone that kids can go to and trust in our society today, they need a resource and advocate, and that is the best thing!
Megen Stair is the 2018 School Counselor of the Year. The purpose of this award is to recognize a professional school counselor who has demonstrated evidence of implementing a comprehensive data-driven school counseling program and has further developed a program that supports students’ academic, social-emotional, and career development. The FSCA School Counselor of the Year must demonstrate leadership and collaboration in their work with colleagues to promote equity and access to opportunities and rigorous educational experiences for all students to maximize student achievement within the past five years.
Megen is a school counselor at Park Vista Community High School, Lake Worth, FL. She is also the 2017-2018 School Counselor of the Year for Palm Beach County. Megen’s leadership was instrumental in ASCA RAMP designation for school counseling program while managing a caseload of over 600 students each year. She is responsible for hosting monthly Coffee Talks, coordinating 502 Plans, CHOICES programs, the department website, and creating video report cards for their stakeholders and throughout the school district.
Congratulations to Megen Stair the 2018 FSCA School Counselor of the Year.
