Taking care of the emotional needs of children in poverty was a major focus of a forum Friday on school counseling at the University of San Diego. Participants looked at the state of school counseling in San Diego County. KPBS reporter Beth Ford Roth has the story.
Lonnie Rowell is director of USD's center for Student Support Systems. He says there is growing pressure on students because of high stakes testing. Rowell says the pressure is even greater on children who come from impoverished backgrounds, because they're also dealing with issues like overcrowded housing and hunger.
Rowell: "And to now have this expectation of higher standards for student achievement creates a whole kind of additional set of stressors that counselors have found themselves increasingly needing to be able to respond."
Counselors also got a chance to discuss ways to increase funding for the profession. California's ratio of students to counselors is 900 to one. In San Diego County elementary schools, it's 2000 to one. Beth Ford Roth, KPBS news.
