Mental health counselors are depicted struggling to support an onslaught of students. Though CCHS has offered more mental health support than many high schools in the Athens area, the scope of many students’ mental health struggles means more work needs to be done. “No student should ever be turned away from the conversation they need without an alternative option – CCHS students need more mental health resources.” Illustration by Sylvia Robinson
Even at a school like CCHS, where mental health is taken seriously, there are opportunities for greater student support.
A knock sounds at Clarke Central High School Mental Health Counselor Dr. Meg Huntington’s door.
Huntington is in the midst of handling an unexpected mental health emergency with a student, but she steps out of the room to address the source of the noise. It’s a student, one who’s taken the time to schedule an appointment with Huntington, one with a need to speak about an issue in their life.
With a pained expression, Huntington sends the second student back to class.
With only two mental health counselors in a school of more than 1800 students, this scenario isn’t an imagined hypothetical – in the first two months of the 2024-25 school year, it’s happened to Huntington multiple times.
“(I am) having to triage with who gets the attention, who needs it most,” Huntington said.
Despite the addition of Huntington, a newly-arrived counselor at the start of the 2024-25 school year, CCHS still lacks the in-house mental health services students need.
According to the American School Counselor Association, an organization dedicated to supporting counselors nationwide, a 1:250 student-to-counselor ratio is recommended to best meet students’ needs.
On the surface, CCHS appears to be fairly close to that optimal ratio.
The CCHS staff directory lists seven counselors currently serving at CCHS, not counting the college adviser and graduation coach. According to data from the Clarke County School District School Enrollment Dashboard, there are currently 1809 students enrolled. In tandem, those two numbers result in a nearly ideal 1:269 ratio.
However, through the lens of mental health, this ratio is misleading. Only two of those seven counselors – Huntington and Anna Moses – work as mental health counselors. The rest, known as “alpha” counselors, primarily work on advising students academically and preparing them for life after graduation.
Last year, CCHS only had one mental health counselor to meet the mental health needs of all 1800+ students – a clear problem. This year, Huntington and Moses are responsible for servicing the needs of 850 students each – better, but still an overwhelming amount to handle.
“(I am) having to triage with who gets the attention, who needs it most,”
— Dr. Meg Huntington,
CCHS Mental Health Counselor
In the midst of a turbulent time for students’ mental health nationwide, students need more support.
At CCHS, one mental health counselor is funded by the CCSD Board of Education, but all other counselors – including the other mental health counselor – are funded based on the school’s Full Time Equivalent counts. Increasing the number of in-school counselors, whether through increased BOE funding or a broader change in the statewide funding formula for counselors, would be a positive step to providing that support.
“I think there is always room for improvement to strategically use some of the supports. That can include clinical social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, so different people that are in that support area,” CCSD BOE member Lakeisha Gantt, a professional psychologist, said. “Do I think we have enough? No. Do I think we’re doing a good job? Yes.”
No student should ever be turned away from the conversation they need without an alternative option – CCHS students need more mental health resources, lest the chronic mental health crisis in America’s schools be further perpetuated in red and gold.
