Advisers and advocates: WPCSD counselors help students thrive from K to 12 and beyond

The 21 counselors in the White Plains City School District wear many hats: academic advisers, close confidantes, calm mediators, relentless advocates and trusted guides.

On any given day, they may help a fifth-grader calm racing thoughts, walk a seventh-grader through peer conflict, coach a high school student through class planning or listen to a teenager who just needs to be heard.

It’s National School Counseling Week, which focuses “public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems,” according to the American School Counselor Association.

The theme for 2026 is “School Counselors Amplify Student Success” and the WPCSD is recognizing the professionals who perform these vital functions — often behind the scenes.

The district’s counseling program – led by White Plains High School Assistant Principal Sara Hall – serves students from K to 12th: one rotating counselor across the five elementary schools, two counselors at Eastview Middle School, four at Highlands Middle School, one at Rochambeau Alternative High School and 13 at WPHS.

“Counselors are a vital part of the school,” Ms. Hall said. “They’re often the first point of contact for families. But so much of what they do can’t be publicly shared because it’s confidential.”

That invisibility, she said, is exactly why the yearly observation matters.

“We can celebrate college acceptances and scholarships,” she said. “But when a student is struggling just to come to school, or dealing with something deeply personal at home, you can’t put that in a newsletter. And yet that work is just as meaningful.

A continuum of support

Counseling in White Plains is designed as a continuum that evolves as students grow.

At the elementary level, the focus is on helping children understand and regulate their emotions. That work is led by Antonietta Viczian.

“My position is unique because I’m the only counselor at the elementary schools,” Ms. Viczian said. “I travel to all five buildings on a rotating schedule.”

Rather than working primarily from an office, she ventures into classrooms to deliver structured social-emotional learning lessons using the MindUp program, which was founded by The Goldie Hawn Foundation.

“I actually push into the classrooms and do 30-minute lessons,” she said. “Even though my role is counselor, it’s very much like being an SEL teacher.”

The SEL curriculum centers on neuroscience, mindfulness, positive psychology and cognitive flexibility — skills students can carry with them as academic and social demands increase.

“The kids love it,” Ms. Viczian said. “They’re curious about how their brains work and why they feel the way they do. We use stories, videos, activities, worksheets — even coloring —anything that helps them engage.”

Because she rotates among schools, Ms. Viczian works closely with teachers, psychologists and social workers who reinforce strategies between visits.

“I give students tools,” she said. “Those tools can be reinforced by teachers, families and support staff every day.”

Navigating the middle school transition

At Eastview Middle School, counselors support students at one of the most pivotal points in their academic lives: the transition from elementary school to a departmentalized middle school setting.

“This is a huge shift for kids,” said Eastview counselor Jessica Rivera. “They’re learning to manage time, move between classes, navigate peer relationships. All of this is happening while they’re going through major developmental changes.”

Ms. Rivera described sixth grade as a time of emotional intensity amid the onset of puberty.

“There’s so much change happening internally and externally,” she said. “Our role is to help students regulate emotions, resolve conflicts and build foundational skills that will carry them forward.”

Middle school counselors also act as connectors, linking students, families, teachers and administrators.

“We serve as a bridge,” Ms. Rivera said. “Between students and teachers, families and the school, administration and the classroom.”
While the work is demanding, she said it is deeply meaningful.

“You’re caring for hundreds of children as if they were your own,” she said. “Education is freedom, and being part of that process is incredibly powerful.”

Preparing high schoolers for future

At WPHS, counseling becomes even more complex, blending academic oversight, social-emotional support and postsecondary planning.

Counselor Kaylin Fitzsimons, a White Plains graduate herself, said the job requires both precision and empathy.
“A lot of what we do is academic — credits, Regents exams, transcripts, scheduling,” Ms. Fitzsimons said. “But it’s all tied to where students are headed after high school.”

With a course catalog she described as “college-level,” counselors work closely with students to build programs aligned with their interests, whether those lead to four-year colleges, trades schools, BOCES programs or the military.

Just as important, Ms. Fitzsimons said, is teaching students to advocate for themselves.

“Adolescents often struggle to speak up,” she said. “We support them, but we also push them to try because that’s a life skill.”
A hallmark of the WPHS model is continuity. Counselors work with students for all four years and are assigned by family, meaning siblings often share the same counselor.

“That long-term relationship makes a huge difference,” Ms. Fitzsimons said. “Parents know you, students trust you and the work becomes more collaborative.”

Relationships come first

For WPHS counselor Yolainny Minaya, who joined the district after years working in the South Bronx, everything begins with trust.
“Relationship-building has to come first,” she said. “Before I can talk to a student about grades or planning, I need to know who they are and how they show up.”

Ms. Minaya said students are more willing to open up when counselors are authentic and present.

“When students feel seen and heard, that’s when real change can happen,” she said, adding that her goal is not for students to remember her name, but to remember how they felt when they left her office.

“I want them to leave with tools,” Ms. Minaya said. “Confidence. Self-awareness. A sense that they can handle what comes next.”

Veteran counselor Lilian Diaz-Withers has spent more than two decades in White Plains, first at the middle school level and now at the high school. She commutes more than an hour each way — longer during the winter — but says the work makes it worthwhile.
“I love this district,” Ms. Diaz-Withers said. “That’s the only way to explain a commute like that for 24 years.”

She described counseling as “family work,” noting that long-term relationships with students and siblings often continue well beyond graduation.

“It’s humbling to know you played even a small role in shaping someone’s path,” Ms. Diaz-Withers said.

Why School Counseling Week matters

Ms. Hall said misconceptions still linger about counseling, particularly the belief that counselors “do” the college application process for students or provide detailed financial aid advising.

“Our role is to support, guide and empower students, not to take ownership away from them,” she said.

Because much of counselors’ most impactful work remains private, Ms. Hall said a dedicated week of recognition helps the community better understand their role.

“This is the moment to give them the spotlight,” she said. “They deserve it every day — but this week lets us say it out loud.”