Normally, the answer would have been an emphatic yes. But there was one big problem: It was already April, too late to apply to most colleges. Hone, a counselor at Copper Hills High School, watched him go to a community college instead.
It was sad, he said. "I think given more time, we could have found him scholarships [to four-year universities]," Hone said. "He could have been very successful, but his parents didn't graduate from high school and he didn't have a clue."
Such stories are part of the reason state leaders hope to get money to hire more counselors this year. Counselor-to-student ratios are simply too high, they say, for counselors to give students the attention they need.
Hone, for example, is responsible for about 600 students, and that's not unusual in Utah where the average secondary school counselor-to-student ratio is about 1:369, according to the Utah Office of Education.
The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of one counselor for every 250 students. In 2004-2005, only four states had higher high school counselor-to-student ratios than Utah, according to the national association.
Officials seem to agree more counselors are needed. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is recommending the state spend another $4 million to put more counselors into Utah high schools and junior highs. The Utah Board of Education passed a resolution in November asking for $9 million in additional money to get secondary school counselor-to-student ratios down to 1:350.
Sen. Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, is now drafting a bill aimed at reducing Utah counselor-to-student ratios.
"It's the students' future," said Kathy Bitner, president of the Utah School Counselor Association. "Without that kind of individual attention, students will get lost."
Providing guidance
Hone's time is stretched thin on a typical day at Copper Hills High. He's one of four full-time counselors at the school, which has more than 2,100 students. He serves students with last names starting with letters R-Z.
On a recent school day, Hone saw four students in about 45 minutes, two of whom were seniors in danger of not graduating on time. Another several students left notes on Hone's desk to schedule appointments.
One at a time, students filed into Hone's office and sat on the couch facing his desk. He met with senior Sapa Unutoa for about 15 minutes to discuss his options for graduating.
"Let's fast forward and say you haven't finished all of this," Hone told Unutoa, referring to graduation requirements. "On June 3, let's say you get all but one of these things done, then is there something else you can still do to graduate from high school?"
Unutoa wasn't sure what his options would be in that case. Hone told him about Southpointe High School, a special school where Hone could take classes over the summer to earn his diploma. Unutoa said he had no idea that option existed.
In fact, he asked Hone to do him a favor after hearing about Southpointe. He asked Hone to tell his friends about the school. He said he didn't think any of his friends knew about it either.
"Some kids think they can do it by themselves, but if they're like me, the counselor is just the perfect person to go to," Unutoa said. "If I didn't have him, I'd probably be lost."
More than 16 percent of Utah students didn't graduate from high school in 2004, according to a recent Education Week report.
The test of time
Hone wishes he had more time with students. Under the state's Comprehensive Guidance Program, counselors are supposed to spend time with each student in grades 7-12 discussing Student Education Occupation Plans.
The plan is meant to recognize students' accomplishments, monitor them and help them with their education, career and life goals.
But with nearly 600 students to see, Hone estimates he spends an average of about a half-hour to an hour a year working with each student on the plans.
"I don't think that's a lot of time," Hone said. But he's also responsible for helping with college, emotional and many other types of counseling.
In Utah, many school counselors, including Hone, are also responsible for working with standardized tests. Hone spends about 20 percent of his time coordinating and managing various aspects of about seven different tests given each year.
The resolution the state school board passed encourages school districts to free counselors from such duties so they can spend more time helping students.
"With increasing demands on counselors, they have less and less time to work with students," said Dawn Kay-Stevenson, coordinator for student services and K-12 school counseling at the Utah Office of Education. "We want a chance to show [students] what they can do."
With so little time, Hone said he generally spends most of his time working with the bottom 10 percent and top 10 percent of students. "The 80 percent or so in the middle get very little," Hone said.
Fixing the problem
It's a situation common across Utah and one many say is unacceptable. Nebo School District Director of Secondary Education Scott Wilson said ideally, he'd like to see a ratio of about one counselor for every 350 secondary school students.
"We know the more we can communicate with students and give them help, the more successful they can be," he said.
Many, including Holly Todd, a counselor at Old Mill Elementary School in Heber City, also would like to see the state put money into elementary school counselors. Now, counselors in lower grades sometimes work with as many as 1,000 students or more each, Kay-Stevenson said.
"If we can go in and work with the kids earlier in their educational experience, then sometimes some of the issues that come up later aren't as big," Todd said.
Bitner said she'll be thrilled if lawmakers appropriate the additional $4 million the governor has requested to hire more counselors. She'll be even happier if the Legislature makes it $9 million, as the state school board has requested.
Hone would love to see the ratios fall.
"If I had half as many kids," Hone said, "then I could spend twice as much time with them."
lschencker@sltrib.com
