The Heart of a School Counselor

Opening Keynote: Friday, November 8, 2019

Presenter: Mr. Paul Ripchik 

As an advocate for school counseling and school leader, Mr. Paul Ripchik knows first-hand the tireless work of school counselors and the passion we have for the profession. Be inspired and motivated as Mr. Ripchik shares his insights into all aspects of the heart of a school counselor.

Mr. Paul Ripchik is a recently retired High School Associate Principal and Director of HS Counseling at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park, New York. From 2009-2019, Mr. Ripchik was asked to supervise the school counselors at the high school as part of his administrative responsibilities. Having started his education career in 1988 as a Business Education Teacher, Mr. Ripchik had much to learn about a school counseling program.

Along with the support of the 12 counselors at Shenendehowa, Mr. Ripchik developed a plan to recognize and rebrand the Shenendehowa Counseling, College & Career Center. As part of this venture, the group embraced learning the American School Counselor Model and Mr. Ripchik made it his goal to become versed in its purpose and components.

From 2013-2014, Mr. Ripchik and his team set up a plan and a timeline to submit a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) application in the Fall of 2016. In January 2017, the Counseling Department received the ASCA RAMP accreditation for the 2017 school year. Along with the RAMP award, they also received a School of Distinction acknowledgment for their near-perfect rating score.

Mr. Ripchik is currently a Lead RAMP Reviewer for ASCA working with a team of counselors to evaluate RAMP application submissions. He is also a team member for the Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA) presenting workshops on the comprehensive school counseling model, and MTSS models for counselors and attendance improvement.

Mr. Ripchik has been a presenter and guest speaker at several state and national conferences including the ASCA National Conference, the New York State School Counselor Association (NYSSCA) Conference, and the School Administrators Association of New York State Conference. Mr. Ripchik was recently the keynote presenter at the national Evidence Based School Counseling Conference (EBSCC), and a panelist and presenter at the National School Counselors Administrators Conference.

In 2015, NYSSCA recognized Mr. Paul Ripchik with their Administrator of the Year Award for his advocacy and leadership of the school counselors at Shenendehowa.