School Counselor Herele Oakley Named Florida Elementary School Counselor of the Year
Herele Oakley, school counselor for Crystal Lakes Elementary School, is the Florida School Counselor Association’s (FSCA) Elementary School Counselor of the Year. This state-wide recognition is given to Ms. Oakley in recognition for her work in running a top-notch, comprehensive school counseling program as well as continuous commitment to professional development and advocacy. Ms. Oakley has coordinated the school’s Power Cats, an afterschool reading remediation program that uses teachers to provide small group academic instruction and the school counselor to provide individual student planning and small group activities.
She is proud of her role in establishing the Palm Beach School Counselor Association’s (PBSCA) School Counselor of the Year and Administrator of the Year award programs. The program recognizes school counseling effectiveness, supports school counselors and highlights the importance of the administrator and school counselor relationship. Her advocacy efforts at a local, state and national level for school counselors have in turn removed barriers to student academic, personal/social development and college/career readiness.
According to Crystal Lakes Elementary Principal Diane Curcio-Greaves, “Herele takes on a leadership role and works collaboratively to carry out programs for the success of all students. She effectively collects and analyzes data to implement programs so that our students can succeed academically. Through collaboration and assisting students, parents, faculty, staff, and administrators, she is an advocate for all students.” She believes that school counseling programs are essential to maximizing student achievement. The school counseling profession has afforded her an opportunity to be the voice for students and make a positive difference in the lives students.
This highly competitive acknowledgement of achievement will be awarded at the Florida School Counselor Convention on November 2 in St. Petersburg, FL.
The District is proud of Herele Oakley, as well as the previous award winners who were recognized as being leaders in the field of school counseling:
2011 – Michael C. Kane, American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Finalist School Counselor of the Year
2011 – Michael C. Kane, FSCA School Counselor of the Year
2010 – Alwynne Lamp, FSCA School Counselor of the Year
2008 – Janell Leatherman, ASCA National Finalist School Counselor of the Year
2006 – Janell Leatherman, FSCA School Counselor or the Year
For more information please contact Keith Oswald, Assistant Superintendent Division of Curriculum at 561-357-1113 or keith.oswald@palmbeachschools.org .
