<p>When a group of her students were all dealing with the deaths of close family members, a school counselor wanted to find a creative way to help them understand the grieving process.</p>
<p>Webb Elementary School counselor Angela Clendening gave the students pretend press passes and had them go across the school, taking photos of items that illustrated the stages of grief. For the students — especially one that had been reluctant to talk — the project helped them better understand the feelings and emotions they were dealing with and be able to express them, she said.</p>
<p>Clendening was named teacher of the year for Franklin Schools, after her fellow teachers at Webb Elementary named her for their building and a committee selected her from all of the district’s schools.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>For the past nine years, Clendening has worked as a school counselor in Franklin, first at Union Elementary School and now at Webb Elementary. She describes her role as part social worker, part teacher and part mother. And as the mom of four boys, she has had plenty of experience with the latter role.</p>
<p>“Counselors wear many different hats,” she said. “We’re educators, and we are helpers.”</p>
<p>The emotional issues students are dealing with at home, including everything from a pet dying to a parent being sentenced to jail, can often impact their education, Clendening said. That can lead students to become withdrawn, have issues with anger or fall asleep in class because they are tired, she said.</p>
<p>“My role is to help meet children’s needs so that they are available to learn,” she said.</p>
<p>The role of school counselor has changed drastically in the past, Webb Elementary principal Cheryl Moran said.</p>
<p>Counselors now have to be social workers and educators, she said.</p>
<p>Clendening has the ability to take even the most stressful situations and help students relax through her calming presence, Moran said. She’s someone that students can go to when they are upset, with the assurance that they’ll find someone who will be able to help them, she said.</p>
<p>“She has the calmest demeanor of anyone I’ve ever met,” Moran said.</p>
<p>As the school counselor, Clendening will work with students individually and in groups, as well as meet with parents and help connect them with educational materials and community resources that can help their family. She also gives classroom presentations, focusing on teaching students positive character traits, such as respect, patience or honesty, and on topics such as how to handle bullying or conflict resolution.</p>
<p>“One of our other responsibilities is that we are creating good citizens,” Moran said.</p>
<p>Having a counselor named teacher of the year is important because it recognizes the involvement counselors have in the teaching process, she said.</p>
<p>Clendening works with students in small groups organized by the types of challenges the students might be going through. One group includes students of mixed families, such as children living with a single parent or grandparent. Many students feel as if they are the only one in this type of situation, and one of her goals is to show them that others are going through the same challenges, which helps them understand they aren’t alone, Clendening said.</p>
<p>In a recent session, Clendening had students use miniature figurines to show their family, allowing them to visualize how their situation compares with their classmates. She encourages the students to talk with each other about ways to deal with the family issues they are experiencing.</p>
<p>Other groups include ones focused on anger management, parents being in jail, parents serving in the military or students dealing with grief.</p>
<p>One of the biggest issues Clendening sees now more than ever is children with parents or relatives that are addicted to drugs and the consequences that can come from drug abuse, such as jail time, poverty and homelessness, she said. Besides working with students, she will also try to work with parents to connect them with local nonprofits and other assistance in the community.</p>
<p>She also works to show students how what they’re learning in school connects with the types of jobs they might do as adults.</p>
<p>One project Clendening began is called Career Cafe, where she brings in adults from a variety of professions, such as doctors, lawyers, plumbers, landscapers or firefighters, to talk with students about what they do.</p>
<p>A group of about two dozen students will eat lunch while getting to ask questions about specific careers. Her goal is to expose students to the different types of careers they could pursue, as well as to help connect what they are learning in school to what they may do in a job, Clendening said.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="The Clendening File" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>Name: Angela Clendening</p>
<p>Family: Husband, David; Four sons</p>
<p>School: Webb Elementary</p>
<p>Role: School counselor</p>
<p>Years teaching: 19</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
