Focus on our Fabulous Staff

School counselors are recognized in the month of February during National School Counseling Week. This is a time that we can acknowledge the amazing work our four counselors, Elissa Harrington, Ashlee, Welsh, Adele Alfson and Katrina Ruggles, do for our district. They each bring valuable expertise to their positions and provide our students and staff with opportunities and resources that might otherwise not be available. The week was used to highlight the work of counselors and to help focus public attention on the unique contributions that counselors bring to the public-school system.
Adele Alfson is our guidance counselor at the secondary level. She helps students develop their academic programs for high school and prepares them for post-secondary options. She helps coordinate and run the PSAT and SAT testing for the district. Adele also brings her exceptional culinary skills to the district and teaches a culinary arts class to our high school students. Every year she prepares the meal for all of our sponsors and vendors who participate in our high school parent/teacher conferences.

Elissa Harrington does a fantastic job with our elementary students. She provides individual and small group counseling support for our students and staff. She teaches a daily social/emotional class to all of our elementary students, focusing on life skills and making healthy decisions. Elissa has had to deal with some challenging situations at the elementary and she has been willing to go the extra mile by doing home visits and providing additional supports for our students and families.
Katrina Ruggles wears many hats in the district. She supports our post-secondary and workforce readiness programming. Our students are provided with a multitude of opportunities thanks to these efforts. In her role as grant coordinator, Katrina has been successful in obtaining a number of grants for the district. This additional funding enables us to provide additional resources and supports for our students and staff. Katrina has been recognized on multiple occasions at both the state and national level as an outstanding counselor.

Ashlee Welsh is a huge support for our students and helps with all of the secondary endeavors. Ashlee does a fantastic job connecting with our kids. She is able to relate with our students and therefore, they feel comfortable talking with her. She is a safe support for our students and has played a vital role for our district in that capacity. She coordinates all of the ICAP activities and always makes the days meaningful. Kids have the chance to listen to guest speakers, play fun games related to curriculum, and further develop their academic and SEL skills.

We are very lucky to have the amazing team of counselors that we have at Center.

Along with our fabulous counseling staff, we are taking this week to recognize and celebrate all of our district staff. We are looking forward to a fun week of staff appreciation, Mardi Gras style.
Parent teacher conferences for the middle/high were held Wednesday, Feb. 12, and home visits took place Thursday, Feb. 13. We had a great turnout for Parent Teacher conferences. Parents had the chance to visit with teachers and consult with a wide range of outside organizations and support services that were available during the evening.

Fast Forward
Wednesday, Feb. 19, will be an ICAP early release day for students. Staff will enjoy staff appreciation day and then we will cheer our basketball team onto victory for our “WHITE OUT” night.
Congratulations to Eleazar Aguilar and Pablo Valencia on making it to the state wrestling competition.

Have a great week Vikings!