counselor

An opportunity note in support of House bill 08-1370. This bill represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado. By increasing the number of counselors in our public secondary schools and improving the level of guidance available to students, the bill represents an important step toward closing the state's achievement gaps, reducing the dropout rate, and increasing the number of students who successfully transition to postsecondary educational opportunities and careers.

Colorado should help districts create a culture in the schools in which all students believe they can succeed by increasing the number of counselors, ensuring the student-to-counselor ratios are lowest in the schools that serve the most low-income kids, and encouraging greater use of and coordination with pre-collegiate programs throughout the state.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary lamenting the poor state of high school counseling in Colorado, where the student-to-counselor ratio is high and some minority and low-income students are discouraged from going to college by their counselors.