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Last week I had the privilege of celebrating the work of the 2012 School Counselor of the Year, Nicole Pfleger, at an elegant gala event held at Union Station and sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).  Nicole is a school counselor at Nickajack Elementary in Georgia’s Cobb County Public Schools and a reminder of how important individual excellence, leadership and enthusiasm are to the success of our students, schools, and districts.  Nicole is an impressive young woman with a talent for problem solving in the best interests of the students with whom she works.  At Nickajack Elementary she works to create an environment where students are respectful, responsible, and able to work cooperatively with others.  She established a school program called Rachel’s Challenge that focuses on creating a culture of compassion through acts of kindness and service projects.  This school wide program includes a curriculum, class meetings, service projects, student recognition and a Kindness and Compassion Club.

Pfleger has developed a close working relationship with a community homeless shelter for women and children where some of her students live, helping set up a learning center in the shelter to support her students’ out of school academic needs.  She also established the DREAM Team (Demonstrating Respect Every day to Achieve More) for at-risk male students to promote positive behavior and character development through small-group counseling and a mentor relationship.

And what was clear when Nicole Pfleger took the podium to speak is that she’s a leader in her profession, her school and her community.  What was even more heartening is that Nicole is a young woman who is still early in her professional life and has already demonstrated the qualities that show what’s possible for both educators and their students to achieve when appropriate care and leadership are exhibited.  In her remarks, Nicole gave credit to her school’s principal who mentored her and allowed her to try new things that were good for kids (conversely, her principal related how exciting it has been working with a talented, energetic counselor whose work focuses on what is best for kids).  And Nicole’s final accolades were for her mother, who she said provided support, encouragement and acted as a role model…in the same manner that Nicole does with the students at Nickajack Elementary.

So much of what I hear and read about public schools in my daily work is negative and disrespectful.  It’s professionals like Nicole Pfleger that remind me of the fabulous work that too often goes unrecognized in our public schools.  We’re lucky that in this instance, a positive role model got the attention and credit she deserves.