Washington County Enterprise-Leader
For This Counselor, It Is Not Always Business
GILL GOES BEYOND SCHOOL WALLS TO HELP STUDENTS
PRAIRIE GROVE — Angie Gill, counselor at Prairie Grove Middle School, wants students to know her fun side.
“The way to get children in is to get out and mingle,” Gill said. “They have to know you.”
She spends time in the hallways and classrooms visiting students. She goes to the lunchroom. She attends ballgames. She plays games with them.
“I want them to know me when it’s not business. They have to know my fun side too because they have to feel comfortable to come here.”
Gill was named Arkansas Middle School Counselor of the Year this summer by the Arkansas School Counselors Association. She also recently was recognized with a legislative citation from state Rep. Charlene Fite of Van Buren.
She has been in education 27 years, 15 of those as a counselor. Gill has worked for Prairie Grove School District for 13 years.
It takes several minutes for Gill to list everything that falls under a school counselor’s job description.
She works with Ozark Guidance Center, behavioral specialists, students and their families.
“In counseling children, I’m making sure to get the help they need as far as mental health,” she said.
Gill works with teachers as a support system and also helps with meeting general health and wellness needs. She also helps children meet basic needs, such as food, clothing and housing.
“We’re like a liaison between schools, families and community outreach,” she said.
On the academic side, Gill works on students’ class schedules, prints report cards and progress reports and works with the state’s data information system, called E School.
She also is the school’s 504 Coordinator. Students who have a disability but do not qualify for special education services have an individual 504 Plan to make sure their needs are met in the classroom.
As a classroom teacher, Gill taught first-, fourth-, f ifth- and sixth- grade students.
She did not have the goal to become a school counselor but believes God put her in the profession for a reason.
Gill was working in a school that did not have a good counselor, she said. She finally decided to do something about it and approached the school principal about the problem. The following summer the school superintendent called her, asking if she would consider taking the job.
She went back to school for her counseling certification “and here I am.”
Gill said she enjoys counseling because she likes to help people and wants to see students grow.
“I like seeing a connection between parent and the school. It takes all of us working together for a child to become a productive citizen.”
Debbie Drake Gordon, counselor at Elkins Middle School, nominated Gill for the honor. Recommending Gill was an easy decision, she said.
“Angie is very devoted to her students. She loves what she does and it shows,” Gordon said.
Reba Holmes, Prairie Grove Middle School principal, said Gill goes beyond the call of duty and “beyond the walls of our school,” to assist students and parents dealing with issues arising, from academics to personal problems.
“Students know that she cares for them even when she is having to have the ‘tough talks’ about decisions they are making,” Holmes added.
Gill also works with outside agencies to help provide food for students and their families, such as the Backpack Program, and is involved with other community events, such as Shop with a Cop, a project sponsored by Prairie Grove Police Department. Gill and other school counselors identify students for the Christmas shopping program and show up early on a Saturday morning each year to help Prairie Grove police officers.
Other times, Gill said, she may receive a call in the middle of the night that children in the district have lost everything in a house fire. She, along with others, will help gather clothes, furniture, other needs to help the family.
She’s taken children to the eye doctor to get glasses or gone with them to the gym to take a shower.
“Whatever needs to be done, I’m willing to do it,” Gill said.
Holmes added, “She’s a valuable member of the Prairie Grove Middle School family.”