MCPS Counselors of the Year Announced

Three staff members have been honored with 2021–2022 Counselor of the Year awards. The trio—one each at the elementary, middle and high school levels—were recognized at the May 26 Board of Education business meeting.

This year’s winners are:

Lauren A. Ioli, Wilson Wims Elementary School

Lauren Ioli, who is currently pursuing National Board Certification, has also served as counselor at Maryvale Elementary School. It was at Maryvale that she built relationships with families by meeting them face-to-face; making phone calls when necessary; and coordinating outreach efforts. She worked with the PTA, community and local middle school to plan and implement a Summer Kick Off social event for staff and families. The well-received event included food, books and supplies for students to use over the summer, activities and a chance to connect with middle school teachers and administrators.

Ioli joined the team at Wims at the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year. Right away, she recognized that the virtual environment demanded a different approach. She led the school’s virtual Student Well-Being Team effort to identify students and families at risk and to create plans of support. As schools prepared to return to in-person learning, Iola led the effort to develop P.R.I.D.E. (Positivity, Responsibility, Inclusivity, Determination and Empathy), which recognizes students for a growth mindset in academic and social-emotional learning.

Her time as a classroom teacher has highlighted her strength as a leader. While at Maryvale, she implemented a student mentoring program, meeting with teachers to develop criteria for the program, matching students to teachers with intention and purpose, and providing activities related to students’ areas of strength and needs.

Kathryn M. Mendelson, Kingsview Middle School

Kathryn Mendelson believes that counseling is all about connections, and nowhere is the time more precious than in the sanctuary of her office. Her students know that her office is the place where they can share their secrets, regrets, fears and joys. “It is not just about listening to them but truly hearing them,” she says. When students feel heard, their feelings are validated. She works to grow a mutual respect with them and works to support them, advocate for them and guide them through the challenging middle school years.

Mendelson says she could not do her job without support from colleagues. She has worked with the same group of counselors for 13 years. They offer her support through proactive planning and open communication. She works to maximize the strengths of her team when creating student schedules. By doing this, she minimizes the amount of time that students are out of class and the number of interruptions to conversations with other students.

“Only other school-based mental health professionals truly understand the demands of this role, and as a team, we provide each other with the strength that is needed to be truly effective,” Mendelson wrote in a reflection statement. Parents and colleagues say she instills in students a desire to learn and achieve. Her ability to recognize and support student needs; collaborate with families and lead within the school community are exemplary.

Dr. Nikki D. Jarquin, Gaithersburg High School

Dr. Nikki Jarquin also believes that building connections is the best way to understand students’ needs. Feeling understood strengthens emotional well-being, and in turn, can improve academic performance. Cultural competency is a priority for Jarquin; she has written several articles and presented on the topic. She has had a significant impact on students by taking the time to understand their language, culture and the ways they learn best.

She has worked as a counselor for 11 years, and currently serves Gaithersburg as resource counselor. She co-founded Poder Educators, which works with Hispanic/Latinx educators to promote leadership, advocacy, recruitment and retention.

She fosters collaborative relationships with colleagues, administrators, students and families, and uses data to evaluate program effectiveness and counseling programming needs. Data, she notes, is not only grades, attendance and discipline, but also home life, school life, relationships and mental health concerns. She works with administrators to determine how these factors may impact school performance and collaborates on potential interventions.

The counseling team works to align goals with the School Improvement Plan, which at Gaithersburg, centers around increasing graduation rates. Focusing on students who are not on track to graduate on time, they created a needs assessment and interventions specifically for that group. This work is expected to be modified in the next school year, based on student and staff feedback.