Tammy Van Ess – School Counselor of the Year 2024-2025
School Counselor of the Year
This award honors an outstanding school counselor whose career exemplifies a steadfast commitment to Wisconsin students and the school counseling profession. These individuals lead data-driven, comprehensive school counseling programs that foster academic achievement, social-emotional growth, and career readiness for all students. They advocate fiercely for subgroups of students who face barriers to opportunity, ensuring that every learner has access to the resources, support, and encouragement needed to succeed. Through purposeful collaboration within their schools and across the broader community, they build partnerships that strengthen student success. Their leadership extends beyond the local level, influencing the profession through service, innovation, and advocacy at the state level, creating a profound and enduring impact on both students’ lives and the future of school counseling.
Please Read Before Submitting This Nomination:
While principals and other nominators are often eager to showcase the exceptional work of their school counselors, please remember that this award represents one of the highest recognitions in our profession. The recipient will not only be honored at the state level, but will also move forward for consideration as the National School Counselor of the Year. This distinction carries a high standard. The nomination should demonstrate the counselor’s outstanding leadership, data-driven program results, advocacy for all students (including those facing barriers to opportunity), and meaningful contributions to the school counseling profession. If you do not have all the information needed to answer each question thoroughly, we encourage you to collaborate with your school counselor to gather the necessary data and examples. Incomplete applications may not reflect the full scope of the nominee’s accomplishments. If, after reviewing the criteria, you find that this particular award may not be the best fit, please explore our other distinguished recognition opportunities, such as the Changemaker Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, or Rising Star Award. All activities and accomplishments described in the application must have occurred within the past four years. Thank you for helping us honor the exceptional professionals who transform the lives of Wisconsin’s students.
Nomination Questions:
*The counselor nominated must be a member of WSCA to be eligible to win.*
1) Share the school counseling annual student outcome goal (as an example SLO/SPO) and how the counselor used data to drive their comprehensive school counseling program implementation to maximize student achievement. Please be specific, providing data and examples.
2) How has the school counselor been responsible for school counseling innovations or further development of the school counseling program supporting students’ academic, career, and social/emotional development within the past four years?
3) How has the school counselor demonstrated leadership and collaboration in the school community? Please be specific and provide examples.
Examples of school community leadership may include participation and efforts in:
School-Based Leadership Team
District Crisis Response Team
Staff Professional Development Presenter
Portrait of a Graduate Planning Team
School Improvement Planning Team
Restorative Practices Work Group
WiMLSS Implementation Team
4) Describe how the school counselor has been particularly effective in a collaborative effort with the community partners, such as business/industry, post-secondary institutions, community mental health providers, community youth-serving organizations, parent/teacher organization, etc.
5) How has the counselor advocated for subgroups of students deserving of additional support? Please be specific.
6) How has the school counselor advocated for and impacted the school counseling profession outside of their district? Please be specific and share multiple examples.
View our grading rubric for this award to see the criteria used when selecting the award recipient.
Nomination Instructions:
Fill out the form below to submit your nomination online.
