After being named the 2019 Dallas ISD Counselor of the Year, Helaine Marberry held back a few tears and addressed the auditorium full of outstanding counselors.
“Our reason for being is for kids and doing right by them every day,” said Marberry, who serves as counselor at the School for Talented and Gifted. “Thank you to everyone here for all of your hard work.”
Dallas ISD hosted the Counselor of the Year ceremony at W.H. Adamson High School on April 30. The other Counselor of the Year finalists were Demeatrice Robinson-Peters of Chapel Hill Preparatory School and Adenie C. Ostria of William B. Travis TAG Academy/Vanguard. DeWayne Johnson of Franklin D. Roosevelt High School received the Counselor’s Choice award.
In addition to recognizing the counselor of the year, the ceremony recognized the Lone Star Award Winners. Counselors in these selected schools exhibited excellence in advocacy, leadership, collaboration, and systemic change as supported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model. The Lone Star Award winners are:
- Gold Award: Moises Molina High School
- Silver Award: Thomas Tolbert Elementary School
Also at the ceremony, Billy Earl Dade Middle School and Emmett J. Conrad High School counselors received a Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas (CREST) award. The ceremony also recognized the counselors at Ben Milam Elementary School and Leonides Gonzalez Elementary School with the Outstanding Educator Promise Award, and Texas School Nwakaego Edordu-Oriji of Billy Earl Dade Middle School earned a shoutout for being named the Texas school Counselor of the Year. Valerie Smith from Tom C. Gooch Elementary received the William E. Truax award from the Texas Counseling Association, and the Molina counselors received the RAMP award.
“To each and every counselor, know that we do understand and appreciate your work,” said Dallas ISD Chief of School Leadership Stephanie Elizalde said. “And, in a very small way, this is our way for saying a heartfelt thank you.”
