LES School Counselor named as PSSCA School Counselor of the Year!

Lexington Elementary School's very own School Counselor was selected as the 2017 Palmetto State School Counselor of the Year!

Michelle earned her Master’s of Education in Educational Psychology from

the University of South Carolina and has been a school counselor for 23 years. Her

previous elementary school was acknowledged by the American School Counselor

Association for achieving the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) award at

the elementary school level in 2009. She received National Board Certification in

2004 and again in 2013. Throughout her career she has received several grants

and mini-grants from the Youth Action Advisory Council, the South Carolina

Middle School Association, as well as through her district. She has served on

several PSSCA board positions and presented at PSSCA and ASCA conferences.

She was a member of her district’s caring communities committee, the district

school counselor technology committee, her school’s School Improvement

Council, and is the author of The Creative Counselor Blog.

A parent stated, “By meeting with my child on a regular basis, her confidence

increased and we started to see a positive change. She taught her how to handle

issues in school, which has been valuable in her life. I am very grateful to her!”

This nominee believes, “that throughout my career, regardless of the school

setting, I have advocated for my school counseling program, promoting its impact

on students, and how it makes a difference in their successes. Advocacy is an

integral part of a school counseling program as it educates administrators,

teachers, parents, and the community about the value of school counselors’ work,

programs, and impact on student achievement. It is important that we

continuously advocate for our roles, not only in our schools, but at state and

national levels as well.”

Congratulations to PSSCA’s Elementary School Counselor of

the Year Award Winner – Michelle Privette!!