TULARE COUNTY – Fresno Pacific University is offering a pioneering pilot program that seeks to increase the number of school counselors in the local area to serve rural schools.
The program runs for four to five semesters and provides Master of Arts in Education in School Counseling students with dedicated, on-campus training and mentorship. It started in August 2024 with an initial eight students in the first cohort which was increased to 12 due to demand.
“The goal is to grow the profession in the areas that need the most support,” says Leslie Kelly, program manager in the California Center on Teaching Careers in a statement. “Fresno Pacific has been an amazing partner in this work with us.”
This fall, a second cohort will begin the program with 15 students. The program is funded through the Tulare County Office of Education and is modeled on other residency programs. It provides about 1,500 clinical hours necessary to meet state licensing requirements. Participants in the residency program are provided a $45,000 stipend that ensures a living wage while completing 30 to 35 hours of weekly counseling.
“When I go out to districts and meet with site leaders, one of the questions I ask is what do your counselors do, and what would you like to see them do?” Kelly said, adding that the program is “helping districts build their comprehensive counseling program.”
FPU began researching the project in 2012 for a variety of residency program options. In a press release, FPU pointed out that many rural schools tend to use counselors for disciplinary action rather than as an opportunity to provide preventative care that can keep problems from becoming more serious.
“The commitment is to stay with a rural district for four years after completing the program,” Marvin Lopez, executive director of the center said via press release. “We need more counselors in our schools. This is why a program like this works in our area—because most if not all of our candidates are from this region, they’re from our local communities.”
Chloe Holmes is one of the dozen students in the first cohort and is a graduate of a Bachelor in Education degree from FPU in 2020.
“I just wanted to be able to play a bigger role in the lives of students and to be more of an advocate for them,” Holmes said. “I just knew that in my own classroom, my favorite part of the day was social/emotional learning time…I knew I wanted to make that transition into school counseling where I could do that for all students.”
The program aims to provide unique educational opportunities for students based on the unique cultural challenges in the region.
“This program has really taught us how to address the unique challenges that our students face from those different, diverse backgrounds—just really ensuring that we are there to offer that equitable support for all of our students,” Holmes said.
More information about the program is available through FPU’s admissions office.
