School Counselor of the Year Award

Recognizing that professional school counselors devote their careers to serving as advocates for Texas students and ensuring student success, the Lone Star State School Counselor Association (LSSSCA) School Counselor of the Year (SCOY) Award honors outstanding professional school counselors in Texas.  Through an extensive outreach process, school counselors, teachers, administrators, and others are encouraged to nominate professional school counselors who run exemplary school counseling programs. 

The LSSSCA SCOY candidates complete an extensive application process similar to the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) national awards process. SCOY nominees are judged by a panel of counseling professionals on multiple criteria, including: school counseling innovations, effective school counseling programs, leadership skills and contributions to student advancement. 

Annually one Texas SCOY winner will be chosen by the LSSSCA Board to represent Texas in the ASCA School Counselor of the Year Awards process. To date, Texas has had one (1) national SCOY and four (4) national finalists.

Eligibility for Consideration

• Must be currently employed as a full-time school counselor in a Texas school.
• Must have completed three consecutive years of school counseling service at the time nominated.
• The nominee must be a member of LSSSCA (Lone Star State School Counselor Association) and ASCA (American School Counselor Association).
• Cannot be a LSSSCA School Counselor of the Year or a SCOY Finalist in the last five years. 
• Cannot be a LSSSCA board member or LSSSCA chair member.

Recognition Criteria

The nominee should maintain the highest standards of personal conduct and recognize that his/her personal conduct is held up to public scrutiny. Nominees strive to be model citizens of their community as well as the school counseling community and their broader professional community. They maintain high moral standards in their personal and professional conduct.

Nominees must have been responsible for school counseling innovations or further development of programs to support the career, social/emotional and academic development of all students. Nominees must demonstrate leadership, advocacy, and collaboration in their work and promote equity and access to opportunities and rigorous educational experiences for all students to maximize student achievement.

The nomination form asks for basic contact information. Your nominee will receive immediate notification via email and will be asked to complete the online application process.

Submit Nomination

2024 Texas School Counselor of the Year Timeline

November 5- February 10	Texas SCOY nomination link will be opened for nominations.
March 9	All nominees will be emailed a letter of nomination with SCOY application information
April 12	Application due by 11:59pm CST
April 22 - May 3	SCOY committee will review applications
May 6 - May 17	Virtual Interviews with top 5 finalists
May 20 - 24	Notification of winner
May 31	Nomination due to ASCA
August 15	ASCA SCOY applications due
October	National finalists selected
November	National finalist face-to-face interviews in Washington, D.C.
November	Texas SCOY, SCOY Finalists, and SCOY Semi-Finalists will be recognized at the 7th Annual LSSSCA Conference
Jan/Feb	National SCOY activities in Washington, DC