Michigan Recognizes Need For More School Counselors
January 1, 2022 11:55AM EST
Schools across Michigan are working to recruit 562 mental and physical health professionals mostly to respond to student needs related to the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said this week that students will have the best chance at learning when their mental and physical health needs are met.
The American School Counselor Association said Michigan ranked second worst in the United States in the 2019-2020 school year in its student-to-school-counselor ratio at 671-to-1. The association recommends a 250-to-1 ratio. The effort to bolster the number of counselors, social workers psychologists and nurses in schools is being funded by the $17.1 billion state K-12 budget Whitmer signed in the summer.