Jefferson Elem.'s Carter honored at virtual gala

Jefferson Elementary counselor Olivia Carter, some of her fellow co-workers and other guests had a small masked gathering at One City on Thursday evening to watch the 2021 School Counselor of the Year Gala put on by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

The event held special significance -- the organization named Carter its 2021 School Counselor of the Year.

The annual gala usually takes place in Washington, D.C., where school counselors from all over the country celebrate selected counselors, with the School Counselor of the Year being the highest honor.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the gala was made virtual with pre-recorded videos from school counselors and special guests, such as CEO of EdTrust, John King; cofounder and CEO of Student Success Agency, EJ Carrion; musician Colbie Caillat; and first lady of the United States, Jill Biden.

Carter also spoke in a video, thanking everyone for the honor and talking about how she, co-workers and other school counselors in the nation work hard for their students and the community, and how they overcame challenges the pandemic created.

"As we move through this unprecedented time in education, school counselors are the unique combination of data-driven and humanistic that will further heal our education system. Whether we are virtual, hybrid or in-person, we continue to rise to meet the challenge because in the words of Jonathan Van Ness, 'You are strong, you're Kelly Clarkson strong, and you got this.' If you ever had a question about how you could be effective just like I did, know that you already are. We school counselors are finding exciting, innovative ways to be all in for our students. One student, one school, one district at a time, we are making a difference."

Carter is credited by ASCA for her work in trauma-informed practices that has made various improvements to the Jefferson community.

When Biden spoke, she mentioned Carter and her accomplishments. She said when Carter started five years ago at Jefferson, there were more than 600 discipline referrals for over 250 students. She credited Carter for working with others to then reduce disciplines by the hundreds, create mentorships and an overall improved learning environment.

"Olivia certainly represents the best of this profession," Biden said.

The video of the gala can be found on ASCA's Facebook page.