Researching schools, filling out applications, completing the FAFSA, applying for scholarships, submitting job applications, and getting letters of recommendation are just some hurdles seniors must clear to make their post-secondary plans a reality.
For the past eight years, Tyrone High School has had a full-time College and Career Counselor to help seniors navigate the college and career planning process.
The position was filled through an Americorps grant that was administered by Franklin and Marshall College.
Half the cost of the position was funded by the school district and the other half was paid by the grant. A new College and Career Counselor was sent to the high school through this program every two years.
Unfortunately, after the last counselor’s contract expired following the 2023-2024 school year, the position was not filled for 2024-2025 due to a loss of funding and available candidates.
As a result, the Class of 2025 will have less help, fewer college visits, and fewer resources available to assist their transition from high school to college or the workplace.
“Being a senior this year is scary because we don’t have a specific person to go to for help with college. Our counselors are trying but it’s hard for all of us,” senior Olivia McMonagle said.
According to Tyrone Superintendent Leslie Estep, the school district budgeted its portion of the funding, but Franklin and Marshall couldn’t secure the funding on their end.
The last person to hold the College and Career Counselor position at TAHS was Ms. Kelsey Broadfield.
Among Broadfield’s many responsibilities were taking students on college tours, setting up college visits within the school, meeting one-on-one with every senior to help them plan for their future, helping students and parents fill out the FAFSA and other financial aid forms, and assisting students with scholarship applications.
“Even last year whenever I was a junior, having Mrs. Broadfield made life so much easier compared to the stress added onto the seniors currently,” senior Mariyah Hunter said. “Not having one causes a lot of confusion, making it ten times more stressful for the students.”
Seniors this year will most likely not have a decision day event, a college and career action week, in-person college visits, and other activities that Broadfield organized.
“I feel like it sort of seems unfair to us to not have the same luxuries that previous seniors have had when there was a college counselor,” said Hunter.
The remaining members of the guidance department are trying their best to fill the hole left by her departure, but there is only so much they can do.
High school counselor Jessica Koeck has assumed some of Broadfield’s responsibilities. However, there are many things that she just cannot do because she doesn’t have enough time in the workday, like meeting with each senior individually.
Koeck’s main source of contact and communication with seniors is email. Seniors are encouraged to regularly check their emails, listen to the announcements, and stop in the guidance office if they have questions.
The seniors appreciate what the guidance staff is trying to do with what they have, but they miss having a person whose main responsibility is helping seniors.
“They are trying their best and doing what they can but it’s hard when it was never their job to do any of this so they’re just as confused as we are,” Hunter said.
Other guidance department staff members have stepped up to fill the void, but they cannot do it all.
“Not having a Career and College Advisor has been a significant loss to the district, however, the high school counseling department, along with administration, is working hard to fill the gaps and support students with their post-secondary plans,” Koeck said.
Estep agrees that the position was valuable and hopes to see it return in the future.
“The benefit [of a career counselor] for students through the college and job processes, and even working with parents…that position has been very beneficial to us,” Estep said.
Estep said that the only options available for Tyrone for this school year were for the school district to pay the full salary for the career counselor, or attempt to share a career counselor with a nearby school.
She said she began looking for a school district to share a counselor with Tyrone in the spring. However, in June Franklin and Marshall said they would not have enough candidates to place a counselor at Tyrone, regardless of funding.
In January, Estep plans to reach out to Franklin and Marshall for an update on the future of the program.
If funding is not available through Franklin and Marshall next year, Estep said she would consider asking the board for money in the budget to fill the position locally.
Broadfield hopes that Tyrone will be able to bring her old position back.
“Counselors have a lot on their plates, and removing their career and college planning duties helped them focus on other tasks while allowing them to feel secure knowing that someone was still helping students with postsecondary planning,” Broadfield said.
The seniors agree and hope that the class of 2026 has more help getting ready for life after graduation than the class of 2025.
