Lilly Endowment grants PNW $20,000

The School of Education and Counseling received a $20,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment Comprehensive Counseling Initiative to improve the quality of school counseling programs in Indiana.

The goal is to use the grant to help connect the traditional roles of school counselors with the new, transformed role of school counselors. On Nov. 14, an event called “School Principals and Counselors Together: Enhancing Collaboration to Promote Student Success” will take place in Alumni Hall. The purpose of the event, which is funded by the grant, is to bring educators, administrators and counselors from schools in the region together to meet for a panel discussion and presentation.

Bonnie Colon, professor of education and counseling, applied for the grant and was a key player in coordinating the event.

“The purpose of the grant we received is to take a look at how we can help prepare our graduate students for school counseling and to collaborate with school administrators so that students will reach success in key areas personally, academically, emotionally and socially to most aptly prepare them for college,” Colon said.

Megan McClymont, MBA student in the school of education and counseling, helped plan and market the event. McClymont advertised through flyers, social media, email, newspaper, word of mouth and video interviews.

“We hope that by bringing school counselors and school administrators in the area together for this event, they will leave with an improved understanding of how to collaborate together to promote student success,” McClymont said.

Registrants for the event come from schools in the following areas: Lake Central, Crown Point, Merrillville, Michigan City and LaPorte.

“Ultimately, we hope that this event will kick-start new ideas and begin to strengthen the communication among these professionals within various school communities so that all students’ academic, emotional, social and career and college readiness needs are addressed and met,” McClymont said.