Posted by Kevin Dudley on 2/5/2024
Mary Wetzel has been a school counselor for 11 years at Lincoln Heights Elementary and was previously a school counselor at Chase Middle School and Ferris High School.
As part of National School Counseling Week, Spokane Public Schools is featuring counselors from its schools all week. Mary sat down with us recently to share the ins and outs of her role at Lincoln Heights.
What are the general needs of your students?
When a kid enters my office, I first look at their basic needs. ‘Are you hungry? Are you tired? Do you need a hug?’ That has really helped. Most of our kids just need stability and predictability just like any kid. We get a lot of support from our staff and the community with things like clothes and food and support with their academics.
Counselors are out and about in classrooms. What kinds of lessons are you teaching in elementary classrooms?
We approach lessons differently for each grade level, but overall we look at mindfulness a lot and I support the Purposeful People lessons in elementary.
We know the research around mindfulness is really helpful for kids. We help them with managing behavior and emotions, and also perseverance and getting through things that are tricky for them, whether home is hard and they need to transition to school, or school is hard and they need to navigate their seven-plus hours here. We build those skills so when they move on to middle school, they can take a minute to take care of themselves first and then manage whatever thing they’re dealing with.
What is most rewarding about being a school counselor?
The kids. Being in elementary school is really neat because I have many of these students for a long time. Watching them grow, watching them learn and be proud of themselves is great. We grow relationships with their parents and are partners with them in supporting their student.
Every morning my principal and I will stand at the front door to say good morning, and you can kind of just set their day and that is very rewarding. When you see them have their little wins and can be that person that can safely listen to them when they’re having a hard day, it’s rewarding.
We just want students in school and to spend time with them and take care of them. I think it’s a huge blessing that someone is letting us take care of their kids for hours in the day and we must honor that gift.
What is something the public might not know about school counselors?
The job can be very different from building to building and day to day. Some days you’re a social worker, some days you’re teaching a lesson in the classroom. Some days you’re helping with day-to-day issues. There’s not a lot of predictability, and it’s never cut and dry. It’s responsive and you don’t always know what the day is like and how a kid will come to school. But we’re here for it. Our job is to be responsive to the needs of our kids and that can change minute to minute or week to week.
