When Pam Matthews became a teacher in 1981, it was rare for even one of her students in southeast Oklahoma to have divorced parents. Now, kids who haven’t experienced the emotional toll of divorce are the exception. 

Three years ago, Matthews became the superintendent at Lane Public Schools — a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade district serving 250 students about 2½ hours southeast of Oklahoma City. 

After working in education for nearly four decades, Matthews said students’ mental health is at an all-time low. She said they struggle to cope with family stress, which increased during the pandemic as unemployment spiked and physical and mental health declined. In rural areas like Lane, it is difficult to find help. 

A new state initiative aims to increase support for struggling students. But administrators from some of Oklahoma’s small, rural districts said the effort doesn’t address their community’s needs.

District officials said even if they received the funding, a shortage of mental health professionals in rural parts of the state would make it nearly impossible to find qualified candidates. 

Of the state’s 529 school districts, 35% applied for the School Counselor Corps program, which beginning this school year provides half of the salary and benefits to hire new school counselors or licensed mental health professionals for three years. Districts are responsible for the remaining costs.  

Every district that applied was awarded the full amount they requested, said Annette Price, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Education. 

Nearly $35.7 million in federal pandemic relief funds were awarded to 186 districts, including six charter schools and a cooperative of districts in and around Osage County that will fund positions in six districts. More than 300 new school counselors, social workers, licensed mental health professionals and recreational therapists were funded through the initiative, which was announced days after an Oklahoma Watch investigation found that schools are often the only resource for rural students in crises. 

These new positions will improve Oklahoma’s counselor-to-student ratio. Students at schools with the American School Counselor Association’s recommendation of one counselor per 250 students tend to miss less school and have higher test scores, according to research. Oklahoma currently has an average of one counselor per 411 students. 

The U.S. Department of Education touted Oklahoma’s Counselor Corps initiative in an announcement last month praising the use of funds for mental health support. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona highlighted the program on Twitter as one of six “amazing examples” of states addressing student needs.

The grant, however, leaves rural districts at a disadvantage, according to Matthews and her eastern Oklahoma counterparts in Peggs, Lowery and Shady Grove.

None of those districts had a school counselor on staff during the 2020-21 school year. Yet only one applied for the grant, despite heightened mental health challenges brought on by the pandemic. 

“We need a counselor on site who can help our kids deal with things like when a parent dies or loses a job,” Matthews said. “But that’s just not an easy thing to do in smaller districts like ours with limited resources.”

Large Districts Capitalize on Grant

More than 75% of Oklahoma’s school districts have fewer than 1,000 students, according to state enrollment data. And while they were all eligible, only one-third of those districts applied for the grants. More than half of the state’s larger districts applied for and received funding. (See sortable table below)

Tulsa Public Schools will also add 12 counselors, including six focused on college and careers and six mental health specialists starting this fall. Edmond Public Schools will add five elementary school counselors and three high school counselors. 

Epic Charter Schools, which is among the state’s largest districts and one of the largest virtual charter schools in the nation, did not apply for the grant. 

Lowrey Superintendent Cris Wyse said his district, located 20 miles northwest of Tahlequah, cannot afford to pay its share for even one school counselor despite receiving $715,000 from a federal emergency relief program. He also said the application’s two-week turnaround didn’t leave enough time for staff to prepare the required information, which included student demographic information, a budget breakdown, a description of the new positions and how they would be evaluated. 

State education officials said the quick turnaround was necessary to give districts that received the grants enough time to post the positions, interview candidates and train new staff for the upcoming school year. 

Matthews and Shady Grove Superintendent Emmett Thompson echoed Wyse’s concerns and added that access to qualified candidates provides another challenge for rural districts. 

Peggs Superintendent John Cox did apply and received funding for a new licensed professional counselor for his 200-student district. He personally filled out the application and plans to move a part-time teacher, who is already licensed, into a full-time counseling position next school year. 

Cox is president of the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools, a coalition that represents more than 100 schools statewide. He said many rural schools can’t afford to take a teacher out of the classroom. It’s difficult to attract licensed counselors to schools when they can make more money in private practice, he said.

“If I was in a different situation where I didn’t have access to a counselor… it would almost feel like it would be a waste of time to write the application because I wouldn’t be able to find somebody if I was awarded,” Cox said. 

This concern is heightened for districts in what state education officials call mental health deserts, pockets of eastern and western Oklahoma where there are as few as one mental health provider per 150,000 people.  

Re-Emphasizing the Role of School Counselor

While licensed counselors are in short supply, there is an abundance of certified school counselors, which have different training and requirements from licensed mental health providers. 

Oklahoma has more than 700 certified school counselors currently working as teachers, according to unpublished research conducted by the Oklahoma Educator Supply and Demand Network state education officials said. 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister said over the past decade these counselors were asked to move into the classroom amid Oklahoma’s teacher shortage. Now, the state will again look to these counselors to meet student needs. 

“As we are seeing more teachers coming into schools, then we are able to replace them with another teacher and pull that licensed professional counselor or our credentialed school counselor back into the role,” Hofmeister said.  

Hofmeister said the grant protects counselors from being used as a “catchall in the administrative office.” 

School counselor duties often include test proctoring, lunch or recess duty, data entry and other tasks that do not require counseling credentials. The grant refers districts to American School Counselor Association guidelines for appropriate and inappropriate duties, and mandates that the counselors work “only in roles that reflect their professional expertise.” 

Oklahoma City Public Schools, the state’s largest urban district, will add 12 new mental health professionals and a coordinator through the grant. 

Since 2019, the district of more than 30,000 students has been ramping up its team of counselors and mental health providers in an effort to boost students’ academic success by helping them cope with stress at home that often creates distractions in the classroom. The district added counselors, worked closely with social workers to get resources to parents in need of food or other assistance and hired a director of mental health to coordinate the effort. 

Now, the district has at least one counselor at every school, which was a goal of the Pathway to Greatness Plan to boost student wellbeing. 

Deputy Superintendent Jason Brown said the district cut costs elsewhere, like reducing professional development, to fund the efforts. 

“Those things are still important,” Brown said. “But they were less important than mental health.” 

‘These Kids Need Someone They Can Trust’

On a Wednesday morning in a classroom on the second floor of Cesar Chavez Elementary School, Quanetta Broom reads to a small group of second graders during summer school. 

Broom raises and lowers her voice emphatically as she paces around the room holding up the book to show off pictures of a bucket. The bucket, she explains, is for positive emotions. She compliments a student’s drawing and explains how that helps fill up both of their buckets. She smiles under her blue mask and then giggles with the students as she realizes they can’t see the smile. 

“We can smile with our eyes,” she tells them. “That fills up the bucket, too.”

Saying something mean to another student or experiencing something sad at home can empty the bucket, too. 

Broom has been a school counselor for six years. When she started with the district, she worked at two schools. She spent one day a week at Oakridge Elementary, which made it difficult to build relationships and trust with students. On the other four days, she was the only counselor at Cesar Chavez so she was constantly responding to kids in crisis. 

“I was having to turn away kids, especially those friends that would come by a lot,” Broom said. “I was reacting instead of being proactive because that’s all I could do to keep up.”

Now, Broom is one of two full-time counselors at Cesar Chavez. 

She spends time in classrooms teaching second graders about their feelings and helping fourth graders learn coping techniques. 

And she makes time for her “friends,” students who frequently show up to her colorful office to talk. 

“I have a friend who comes by pretty much every morning around this time,” she said looking at her clock as 9 a.m. approached. “These kids need someone to talk to, someone they can trust and those positive relationships, they can change everything.”

Grants Totaling $35 Million Bring Mental Health Counselors to Schools Statewide

The Oklahoma State Department of Education awarded $35.7 million in federal pandemic relief funds to school districts across the state to increase the number of counselors and mental health professionals in schools. School Counselor Corps grants were awarded to 193 districts, including six charter schools and a cooperative of 13 smaller districts in and around Osage County that applied together. The grants will support more than 300 new school counselors, social workers, licensed mental health professionals and recreational therapists. The funds will be spread out over three years beginning in the fall and require matching funds from the districts.

County	School District	2020-21 Enrollment	Grant Award
Tulsa	Broken Arrow	18,619	$1,620,000
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	31,026	$1,338,000
Tulsa	Tulsa	32,569	$1,332,000
Pittsburg	McAlester	2,900	$1,038,000
Cleveland	Moore	23,390	$825,000
Le Flore	Poteau	2,155	$810,000
Oklahoma	Edmond	23,496	$768,000
Oklahoma	Putnam City	17,829	$666,000
Delaware	Grove	2,305	$573,000
Kay	Ponca City	4,408	$560,400
Creek	Sapulpa	3,562	$540,000
Muskogee	Hilldale	1,936	$537,000
Canadian	Mustang	11,868	$534,000
Osage *	Osage County Inter-Local Coop *	4,779	$522,000
McClain	Newcastle	2,292	$498,000
Cherokee	Tahlequah	3,516	$480,000
Logan	Guthrie	2,623	$474,000
Cleveland	Norman	14,419	$384,000
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy	4,011	$378,000
Caddo	Anadarko	1,495	$375,000
Comanche	Lawton	12,897	$372,000
Mayes	Locust Grove	1,299	$372,000
Grady	Chickasha	2,050	$366,000
Kingfisher	Kingfisher	1,373	$318,000
Seminole	Wewoka	647	$318,000
Texas	Guymon	2,956	$315,000
Kingfisher	Hennessey	846	$315,000
Washington	Bartlesville	5,828	$288,000
Canadian	El Reno	2,648	$288,000
Carter	Lone Grove	1,364	$288,000
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Connections Academy	1,779	$288,000
Payne	Stillwater	5,668	$288,000
Pottawatomie	Shawnee	3,392	$285,000
Muskogee	Muskogee	4,794	$279,000
Grady	Tuttle	1,843	$276,000
Okmulgee	Okmulgee	1,117	$252,000
Canadian	Piedmont	4,416	$252,000
Tulsa	Bixby	6,560	$222,000
Tulsa	Collinsville	2,852	$222,000
Creek	Olive	248	$222,000
Adair	Stilwell	1,347	$222,000
Oklahoma	Insight School Of Oklahoma	800	$219,000
Marshall	Kingston	1,124	$219,000
Cleveland	Noble	2,777	$219,000
Grady	Alex	288	$216,000
Oklahoma	Bethany	1,703	$192,000
Comanche	Cache	1,936	$192,000
McIntosh	Checotah	1,336	$192,000
Oklahoma	Dove Schools Of OKC	1,504	$192,000
Garfield	Enid	7,390	$192,000
Pottawatomie	Tecumseh	1,923	$192,000
Adair	Westville	999	$192,000
Charter	Tulsa Legacy Charter	633	$192,000
Lincoln	Chandler	1,100	$189,000
Okmulgee	Henryetta	1,055	$189,000
Marshall	Madill	1,709	$189,000
Sequoyah	Roland	838	$189,000
Charter	Tulsa Honor Academy	437	$189,000
Sequoyah	Belfonte	158	$186,000
Pontotoc	Stonewall	413	$186,000
Dewey	Taloga	100	$186,000
Charter	Kipp OKC College Prep	465	$180,000
Carter	Ardmore	2,693	$172,503
Charter	Santa Fe South	3,636	$171,000
Alfalfa	Cherokee	410	$136,500
Garvin	Wynnewood	698	$135,000
McClain	Blanchard	1,937	$126,000
Blaine	Canton	312	$126,000
Stephens	Comanche	922	$126,000
Oklahoma	Deer Creek	6,741	$126,000
Tillman	Frederick	825	$126,000
Oklahoma	Millwood	905	$126,000
Cherokee	Peggs	199	$126,000
Adair	Rocky Mountain	165	$126,000
Grady	Rush Springs	453	$126,000
Cherokee	Tenkiller	250	$126,000
Seminole	Varnum	340	$126,000
Pushmataha	Albion	61	$96,000
Creek	Allen-Bowden	259	$96,000
Atoka	Atoka	870	$96,000
Tulsa	Berryhill	1,133	$96,000
Cotton	Big Pasture	191	$96,000
Muskogee	Braggs	115	$96,000
Washington	Caney Valley	771	$96,000
Caddo	Carnegie	532	$96,000
Adair	Cave Springs	165	$96,000
Garfield	Chisholm	1,148	$96,000
Oklahoma	Choctaw-Nicoma Park	5,329	$96,000
Pushmataha	Clayton	252	$96,000
Logan	Coyle	257	$96,000
Logan	Crescent	552	$96,000
Oklahoma	Crutcho	298	$96,000
McCurtain	Denison	295	$96,000
Carter	Dickson	1,286	$96,000
Creek	Drumright	417	$96,000
Jackson	Duke	148	$96,000
Comanche	Elgin	2,306	$96,000
McIntosh	Eufaula	1,112	$96,000
Muskogee	Fort Gibson	1,743	$96,000
Choctaw	Fort Towson	315	$96,000
Tulsa	Glenpool	2,668	$96,000
Creek	Gypsy	55	$96,000
McIntosh	Hanna	72	$96,000
Muskogee	Haskell	650	$96,000
Le Flore	Howe	626	$96,000
Caddo	Hydro-Eakly	467	$96,000
Rogers	Inola	1,197	$96,000
Seminole	Justice	138	$96,000
Craig	Ketchum	560	$96,000
Kay	Kildare	102	$96,000
Delaware	Leach	141	$96,000
Cleveland	Lexington	946	$96,000
Tulsa	Liberty	469	$96,000
McCurtain	Lukfata	366	$96,000
Johnston	Mannsville	95	$96,000
Adair	Maryetta	636	$96,000
Oklahoma	Midwest City-Del City	11,044	$96,000
Johnston	Milburn	196	$96,000
Johnston	Mill Creek	159	$96,000
Okmulgee	Morris	953	$96,000
Creek	Mounds	576	$96,000
Pottawatomie	North Rock Creek	1,114	$96,000
Delaware	Oaks-Mission	173	$96,000
Kingfisher	Okarche	387	$96,000
Muskogee	Oktaha	656	$96,000
Jackson	Olustee-Eldorado	180	$96,000
Mayes	Osage	143	$96,000
Kay	Peckham	104	$96,000
Pittsburg	Pittsburg	162	$96,000
Lincoln	Prague	948	$96,000
Creek	Pretty Water	232	$96,000
McClain	Purcell	1,356	$96,000
Ottawa	Quapaw	563	$96,000
Pittsburg	Quinton	387	$96,000
Pushmataha	Rattan	440	$96,000
Payne	Ripley	413	$96,000
Canadian	Riverside	152	$96,000
Mayes	Salina	741	$96,000
Tulsa	Sand Springs	4,879	$96,000
Seminole	Seminole	1,399	$96,000
Washita	Sentinel	315	$96,000
Rogers	Sequoyah	1,239	$96,000
Tulsa	Skiatook	2,199	$96,000
McCurtain	Smithville	264	$96,000
Pottawatomie	South Rock Creek	403	$96,000
Le Flore	Spiro	1,029	$96,000
Haskell	Stigler	1,187	$96,000
Garvin	Stratford	608	$96,000
Johnston	Tishomingo	841	$96,000
Texas	Tyrone	221	$96,000
Canadian	Union City	300	$96,000
Pontotoc	Vanoss	485	$96,000
Rogers	Verdigris	1,356	$96,000
Sequoyah	Vian	809	$96,000
McClain	Washington	1,005	$96,000
Lincoln	Wellston	510	$96,000
Le Flore	Whitesboro	192	$96,000
Latimer	Wilburton	834	$96,000
Carter	Wilson	416	$96,000
Ottawa	Wyandotte	725	$96,000
Bryan	Colbert	718	$93,000
Murray	Davis	893	$93,000
Kay	Tonkawa	785	$93,000
Charter	Tulsa Collegiate Hall	296	$93,000
Le Flore	Heavener	859	$90,000
Grady	Minco	523	$90,000
Love	Thackerville	287	$90,000
Grady	Verden	282	$90,000
Canadian	Darlington	228	$83,160
Tillman	Grandfield	215	$75,600
Jefferson	Ryan	221	$60,000
McCurtain	Forest Grove	125	$49,536
Pontotoc	Allen	464	$48,000
Cherokee	Hulbert	528	$48,000
Carter	Springer	193	$45,000
Garvin	Maysville	283	$41,400
Lincoln	White Rock	113	$37,800
Texas	Goodwell	216	$36,000
McCurtain	Valliant	908	$30,600
Grady	Friend	245	$24,000
Woodward	Mooreland	561	$96,000

* This cooperative is made up of 13 districts in and around Osage County. The enrollment total includes all 13 districts. Six of those districts applied and received a shared grant.

Jennifer Palmer contributed to this report. 

CORRECTION: This story originally reported that all 13 districts in the Osage County cooperative applied for and received funding. Only six of the districts applied. All of those received funding.

Whitney Bryen is an investigative reporter and visual storyteller at Oklahoma Watch with an emphasis on domestic violence, mental health and nursing homes affected by COVID-19. Contact her at (405) 201-6057 or wbryen@oklahomawatch.org. Follow her on Twitter @SoonerReporter.

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