Getting back into the rhythm of school can be tough for anyone, but in the school counselors’ eyes, it’s much different. Whereas students returned on August 26th, counselors started about two weeks before the first day of school, while students were having their last hoorah of summer. 

The school counselors at the Morgan school, Joni Zdunczyk, Nicholas Grasso, and Chris Marinaro, start their school year five days before all of the teachers and most of the other staff in the building. 

Their first few weeks of school don’t just consists of scheduling, like most might think, although they do deal a lot with that. “It’s like a kitchen sink,” Zdunczyk said, “Anything that any person needs a resource or information on, post-secondary planning, educating people about all of the different paths after high school, and also, of course, helping with student scheduling.”

Many students go to the Student Support Center, also known as the Guidance Office, with many questions, concerns, and overall conversations to discuss with their assigned counselor in the first week. Specifically, most students come with concerns or questions about the schedule and scheduling changes. 

One thing that was missing at the beginning of this school year was former school counselor Colleen Couch, as she had left to start a new job at a school that is closer to home. That meant that the other three counselors had to fill her caseload while waiting for the new hire, Meghan Mulvehill, to start. Mulvehill had to finish responsibilities that she was assigned at her previous job before she could proceed to counseling at Morgan.

Mulvehill comes with years of counseling experience, as she most recently served as the grade seven counselor at

East Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield, Connecticut. With that being said, she needed to fulfill her responsibilities at her previous school before starting up at Morgan on Monday, September 15. This led to there being a period where the school counselors had to “play a man” down as they waited for Mulvehill’s arrival. 

“I think we picked someone who’s really wonderful. I’m really excited that she’s here. I think she’s going to be a really wonderful addition to the team, and I think that the students that she works with are going to be very pleased with her,” Mr. Marinaro said.

Among all of the counselors, they are constantly working throughout the year and are excited to add Mulvehill to their staff. One thing that is also consistent with all of the counselors is that the name of there job is slowly changing. According to CloseGap, “The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) now strongly supports the term ‘school counselor’ to more accurately describe their comprehensive role.” In the past years, they have been known as guidance counselors, but recently, counselors around the country have been working on changing the name from guidance counselors to just school counselors.

“The job has really evolved, and I think the biggest thing we want to do is just educate students on why we’re called school counselors. So I want students to know they can come down to us even if it’s not specifically school-related,” said Zduncyk.

Transitioning back into the flow of school can be tough, but students are inclined to get assistance and have reliance on their school counselors whenever they need help throughout the school year. The counselors here at Morgan are a huge help to the students, especially getting back into the routine of school and finding the resources they need to start off a great school year.