California Schools Lack Counselors

National Average:  477 students per 1 counselor.

California Average  945 students per 1 counselor.

California has made important strides in class size reduction, higher academic standards, greater accountability, and improved teacher preparation. The important missing link in these initiatives to improve student learning is the need for more school counselors and other student support services, such as school psychologists, school social workers, and school nurses. Traditionally, California students' access to counselors varies by grade level, and 29 percent of California school districts have no counseling programs at all. When counseling programs exist, counselors are often asked to add administrative duties such as testing, supervising, and class scheduling. The ratio of students per counselor in this state averages 945 to 1, compared to the national average of 477 to 1, ranking California last in the nation.

Also;

In another sign of the changing of the guard in the leadership of education policy in California, former Stanford professor and leading researcher Linda Darling-Hammond was selected to be president of California’s State Board of Education by fellow board members on Thursday, a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom named her to the post.

Before being selected president, she was sworn in as a board member by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond who is a non-voting member of the board with the official title of executive secretary. Thurmond was elected to his statewide position last November.

“As California enters this new era under a new governor, we are at a significant juncture in education,” said Darling-Hammond, who is also the founding president of the Learning Policy Institute, a research and policy institute in Palo Alto. “The state has made substantial progress in recent years and has a considerable distance still to travel to provide equitable and empowering education for all of its children.”