It’s Jonathan Newsome’s first year at Stephen Bell Elementary as a full-time school counselor and if there is one thing he wants you to know, it’s that he’s more than a guidance counselor.
“It no longer encapsulates everything that is this job,” Newsome said. “I help students with not only their social and emotional needs but also their academic success and make sure they understand the curriculum and have access to it. (The term) guidance is outdated.”
The change of the name lies within the definition. Not just in the change of guidance counselor to school counselor, but also how the school itself is defined.
While it used to be the building and the students in it, now, school is more about community. That change has certainly revealed itself in a big way not only at Stephen Bell Elementary, but throughout the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School District.
There are other definitions that help make the point. There is the Tier system, which helps define which students and families have needs and how they receive assistance from Newsome, others within the school district or even outside entities.
Newsome broke it down like this:
“Tier 1 is everyone. It’s the community. It’s how we can help their families, our teachers, anyone who works in the district,” Newsome said. “Tier 2 is selected students who need extra support – whether that’s to understand and access the curriculum the way we’d want at that grade level, or maybe a skill deficit. Tier 3 are our students and families with the highest needs. Whether that is an individualized education plan (IEP) to help students with academic goals, a mental health referral, or finding resources to make sure all of the needs of our students and families are met.”
Newsome said it is the most rewarding part of his job.
“We helped a family the other day that was going to experience homelessness and got them shelter. Being able to help our families is the most rewarding part. Being able to actually see the work,” Newsome said.
Newsome went on to say he believes there is at least one student in each classroom whose family struggles with financial instability or food insecurity or just getting bills paid.
Those connections are not the only ones Newsome enjoys making.
Though the season has turned to winter, the first-year Stephen Bell School Counselor said he enjoys dismissal and drop-off because it’s a good opportunity to meet families.
“It kind of lets me know how my day is going to go, too, just by the way they are walking in,” he said with a laugh.
It is certainly not all struggles for Newsome as a School Counselor.
One of his favorite parts of the job is vocational training, which starts at a very young age at Stephen Bell.
“I just ordered a pack of 20 different vests of all different careers so they can explore and role-play with different careers,” Newsome said. “I also have a game called ‘Guess That Job,’ it’s like Guess Who but with different jobs - what it takes to have that job, the tools and the setting it would be. I love doing vocational things. Understanding what kids want to do when they are older really helps me understand where they want to go in life.”