LMU and K-12 Partners Win Grant Funding to Collaborate on Building a Robust Counseling Workforce

Loyola Marymount University 's School of Education (SOE) secured $1.5 million in school counseling residency grants awarded this spring by California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC). The funds will be used to support K-12 partners in recruiting and developing the next generation of school counselors through targeted training, mentorship, and expanded professional learning.

The grants provides roughly $250,000 in funding to each of six partner organizations: Los Angeles County Office of Education; Da Vinci Schools; Green Dot Public Schools; Lighthouse Community Charter School; Montebello Unified School District; and Redondo Beach Unified School District.

The School Counselor Residency Capacity Grant program supports K-12 educational institutions in building sustainable professional pipelines for school counselors by investing in mentor development, district-based support systems, and coordinated outreach efforts. The funding enables schools to attract, train, and retain a highly qualified and diverse counseling workforce through partnering with institutions of higher education.

"Schools and districts are experiencing heightened demand for student support services and responding to growing youth mental health needs," said Estela Zarate, dean of SOE, adding that this need informed the theme of SOE's Forum on Youth Mental Health this spring. "These capacity grants underscore our commitment to partnering with K-12 schools to address their most pressing needs, and they represent a critical investment in strengthening school-based counseling and support systems."

Grant funds will be issued over a two-year period. They will cover stipends for select SOE counseling faculty to provide professional development for local school counselors at partner districts and agencies, and to serve as mentors for graduate students enrolled in SOE's counseling program.

In addition, the grant enables SOE to provide professional development and the Child Welfare and Attendance (CWA) Authorization to its new K-12 partners. LMU is one of a limited number of institutions of higher education in California accredited to offer the CWA Authorization as a standalone credential for school counselors who already hold a Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credential. The CWA Authorization equips practicing school counselors with specialized knowledge to address school attendance, engagement, and student welfare needs.

"The counselor residency grants are a critical investment in our K-12 students' futures by allowing us to recruit and train a diverse school counseling workforce that truly reflects the communities we serve," said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools "By partnering with LMU, we're ensuring that our most vulnerable youth-particularly those in our juvenile justice and alternative education settings-have access to highly skilled, trauma-informed counselors who are dedicated to their academic growth, social-emotional well-being, and successful re-entry."