The West Virginia School Counselor of the Year Awards honor school counselors who exemplify excellence in the profession and set the standard for comprehensive school counseling programs in our state. These distinguished leaders demonstrate exceptional skill, integrity, and dedication, and use their voices to advocate for students and advance the school counseling field.
BENEFITS
The WV School Counselor(s) of the Year will receive the following:
- $200 cash award per level (elementary, middle, high)
- Recognition during the WVSCA Annual Conference
- An official press release sent to your local Board of Education and newspaper
- A personalized plaque
- One of the three recipients will be submitted for consideration for the ASCA National School Counselor of the Year Award, including an invitation to the ASCA School Counselor of the Year Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.
ELIGIBILITY
All applications are screened for eligibility prior to review. Nominees and applicants must:
- be employed as a full-time, practicing school counselor on September 1, 2025 and have completed at least three years as a practicing school counselor;
- hold a master's degree in school counseling or equivalent;
- be certified as a school counselor; and
- be a WVSCA professional member as of October 31, 2025. To check membership status, please contact Annette Culberson at annette@wvschoolcounselor.org.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Decisions are made at the discretion of the WVSCA governing board. Nominees and applicants must be able to:
- Demonstrate evidence of implementation of a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program (such as the ASCA National Model®) and have been responsible for school counseling innovations or further development of programs supporting students' career, personal/social and academic development.
- Demonstrate leadership and collaboration in his or her work and promote equity and access to opportunities and rigorous educational experiences for all students to maximize student achievement. Applicants must also demonstrate collaboration with stakeholders. The activities or accomplishments recognized must have taken place within the previous five years.
- Demonstrate continual professional development as well as proof of advocacy for the profession and/or students.
- Have the ability and skills necessary to represent the school counseling profession in a professional manner, including but not limited to high-quality written communication and public-speaking skills.
- Strive to uphold the highest standards of personal conduct and recognize that his/her personal conduct is held up to public scrutiny. Applicants strive to be model citizens of their community as well as the school counseling community and their broader professional community. They maintain high moral standards in their personal and professional conduct.
APPLICATION ESSAY QUESTIONS
Applicants will need to answer the following questions:
- Give examples of ways you have advocated for the profession throughout your career.
- What were two or three of your school counseling program goals last year, and how did you address them? Use data to show your progress in meeting these goals.
- Give an example of a particularly effective collaborative effort you spearheaded with a stakeholder population (administrators, faculty, parents and/or the community).
- What types of professional development opportunities have you participated in throughout your career, and how was this contributed to your continual learning?
- How does your comprehensive school counseling program use advocacy, leadership, systemic change, and collaboration to make a difference for students?
PROCESS
To be considered for the School Counselor of the Year Awards, an individual must:
- be nominated before the deadline of September 30;
- meet all eligibility criteria; and
- complete the School Counselor of the Year application by October 31, 2025.
As soon as a nominee's eligibility is confirmed, a WVSCA representative will reach out with details on completing the SCOY application.
TIMELINE
| August | Nominations Open |
| September 30 | Nominations Close |
| October 31 | Applications Due |
| November 1-15 | Applications Reviewed by Selection Committee |
| December 1 | Winners Announced |
| February 26-27 | Winners Recognized at the WVSCA Annual Conference in Morgantown, WV |
SUBMIT A NOMINATION
