Laredo ISD is celebrating National School Counseling Week and focusing public attention on the unique contributions achieved by the counseling staff at all LISD schools. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
LISD began the week with a breakfast in the LISD Performing Arts Complex honoring the District’s 70 counselors, 16 Communities in Schools counselors, four University of Texas Rio Grande Valley interns, and three Gear Up coordinators.
The honorees were greeted by LISD Board of Trustees President Juan Ramirez, Jr., Superintendent Dr. Sylvia G. Rios, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Rogelio Garcia, Laredo College Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Jessica Treviño, and TAMIU Vice President for Enrollment Management Juan Gilberto Garcia.
“We appreciate our counselors’ efforts to help students focus on academic, career, and social/emotional development so they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society,” Dr. Rios noted. “An integral part of LISD, our school counselors help our students form healthy goals, mindsets, and behaviors. With the aid of a school counselor, students learn to develop effective collaboration and cooperation skills, to practice perseverance, to develop time management and study skills, and to learn self-motivation and self-direction habits.”
LISD’s Director of Guidance Counseling Cindy Dominguez, said, “As counselors, we don’t just help others reach their goals – we guide them in discovering the very essence of their potential. With every conversation, every listening ear, and every piece of advice, we help shape futures, one moment at a time. In our role, we are more than just helpers. We are creators, sculpting worlds of opportunity and potential from what might seem impossible. And it’s not just our students who benefit from this world of imagination – we too grow in creativity, compassion, and resilience.”
Dominguez noted that the LISD Counselors and Counseling Department have completed many important projects and activities this year. This includes the LISD Career Technology Education Expo, numerous scholarship applications, Trauma informed trainings, Breathe for Change, social emotional activities for administrators, and increased community involvement.
The counselors were treated to a breakfast prepared by the Cigarroa High School Culinary Arts class directed by Gilbert Cavazos. The Instructional Television Department directed by Julio Ovando produced a video featuring students from throughout the District expressing their appreciation for their school counselors.
