Counselors play huge role in parish’s future

The Richland Parish School System is fortunate to have three exceedingly knowledgeable and conscientious high school counselors.  

Chyrisse Staten at Delhi High School, Tara Smith at Mangham High School and Judy Johnson at Rayville High School represent all that is right with counselors.  These ladies work with students, teachers and parents and guardians to ensure that each student gets the best high school foundation available.  

To quote John White, State Superintendent of Education: 

“It’s time to highlight the work of professional school counselors and to provide them with an opportunity to broaden awareness of their important efforts. I hope that you and your school system will find a way to elevate their work this week. To kick off the week, Michelle Obama delivered the keynote speech at the National School Counselor of the Year ceremony on Friday. Her speech touched on personal support and guidance for students, career planning, and the necessity of effective counseling for improved graduation rates.

“Professional school counselors in Louisiana have shouldered much of the weight of key initiatives. The implementation of Jump Start required school counselors to develop new knowledge of career pathways and to engage students in in-depth discussions planning for pathways to college and work. A new requirement that students choose whether to apply for financial aid has necessitated that counselors assist parents and students alike in readying themselves for this important step. The results of their efforts have been profound. While Louisiana students earned 14,000 industry-based credentials in 2014, they earned 63,000 in 2017. And the share of Louisiana seniors completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, went up 27 percent last year. These remarkable accomplishments would likely never have happened were counselors not deeply knowledgeable about opportunities for students and dedicated to assisting students at every phase of their educational paths. As you know, this is just a fraction of all that professional school counselors do for our schools and students.”

Please take the time to express your appreciation to our Richland Parish counselors for their hard work.

Richland Today

603 Louisa Street
Rayville, LA 71269
Phone: (318) 728-6467
Fax: (318) 728-5991