The Nevada School Counselor Association (NvSCA) recognizes that professional school counselors devote their careers to serving as advocates for Nevada students and ensuring student success. The NvSCA School Counselor of the Year (SCOY) Award honors outstanding Nevada school counselors.

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 nomination form asks for basic contact information. Your nominee will receive notification via email and will be asked to complete the on-line application process. 

Eligibility for Consideration

The nominee must:

• Be currently employed as a full-time Nevada school counselor for at least five consecutive years at the time of nomination.
• Be a member of NvSCA (Nevada School Counselor Association) and ASCA (American School Counselor Association) for at least one year at the time of nomination.
• Not be a previous NvSCA or ASCA Counselor of the Year winner.

School Counselor of the Year nominees who wish to become SCOY candidates must complete an application process similar to the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) Award process.

Recognition Criteria

The SCOY candidate:

• Maintains the highest standards of personal conduct and recognize that his/her personal conduct is held up to public scrutiny.
• Strives to be model citizens of their community as well as the school counseling community and their broader professional community.
• Maintains high moral standards in their personal and professional conduct.
• Is responsible for school counseling innovations or further development of programs to support the career, social/emotional, and academic development of all students.
• Demonstrates 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.
• Maintains a comprehensive school counseling program.

SCOY candidates will be judged on multiple criteria, including (but not limited to) school counseling innovations, effective school counseling programs, leadership skills, and contributions to student advancement. 

NvSCA’s SCOY Committee will select a winner from eligible candidates to represent Nevada in the ASCA School Counselor of the Year Awards process.

School Counselor of the Year (SCOY) Expectations 

The SCOY recipient is expected to: 

• Apply for the ASCA School Counselor of the Year Award.
• Submit a proposal to present at the NvSCA Annual State Conference.
• Participate in the Awards Celebration at the NvSCA Annual State Conference.
• Serve as Chair or Co-Chair for the SCOY Committee.
• Provide professional development for all Nevada School Counselors.
• Participate in NvSCA activities including, but not limited to: advocacy, socials, state conference, webinars, committees, awards celebration, etc.