Janice Lanford started her career as a teacher, but it was an experience with a young student that made her realize her true calling lay somewhere else.
“I had taken over a classroom in January from a teacher who had to leave due to illness,” said Lanford. “And this one particular student just did not want me there. He wanted his teacher back.”
Janice asked the school counselor for advice on what to do.
“And so, I would do everything I could to make him feel comfortable and want to be there in the classroom with us. And by the end of the school year, he and I had developed quite a rapport. I was talking with the counselor afterward, and she said ‘Janice, you need to get a counseling degree.’ And I said ‘You know, maybe I do.’”
She went back to school and for the past eight years, she’s been a counselor at Wilderness Oak Elementary School.
She loves her job but admits that it has changed dramatically over the past couple of years.
“One of the biggest things I’m seeing right now is a rise in the number of individual kids and small groups that I see. There are so many kids who are struggling with anxiety, low self-esteem, coping skills or social skills.”
For many students, this year is the first time they’ve been back in a classroom in two years. So, they are lagging behind in many necessary social skills, which makes a school counselor’s role more important than ever.
It is a lot of work, but for Janice, it is a true labor of love.
“The kids keep me going. I love my job, and I love being able to talk with kids and help them figure out how to help themselves.”
And by establishing a strong foundation of social emotional skills in students at the elementary level, Janice and her fellow counselors are giving students the tools necessary to succeed in middle school, high school and beyond.
Feb. 7-11 is recognized as National School Counseling Week, to focus attention on the unique contribution of school counselors and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do.
Join us in thanking Janice and all North East ISD counselors for all they do for our students.
