Oklahoma State Superintendent Hofmeister On New 'Counselor Corps' Program

The state is investing $35 million dollars in federal relief money to create the Oklahoma School Counselor Corps.

The money will help fund hundreds of new positions in school districts across the state including school counselors, licensed school-based mental health professionals, social workers and recreational therapists.

State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said, oftentimes, distress in students goes unrecognized until they have a connection with some form of counseling.

"We know that many children are at the edge, the razor edge of catastrophe,” Hofmeister said. “However, a lot of that is hidden.”  

Oklahoma's student-to-school counselor ratio is about 411-to-1, which is much higher than the 250-to-1 ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association.