Similar to a teaching residency, college students are paired with schools in Tulare and Kings County to get hands-on experience before landing their first job.
Roman Romero helps students with social-emotional wellbeing at Hanford West High School in group settings.
He also works one-on-one with students to prepare them for college.
As an aspiring school counselor, he's learning what goes into the job through Fresno Pacific University's brand-new School Counselor Residency program.
"So student social-emotional needs, student mental health needs, academics, their personal needs, all the logistical and clerical things behind the scenes that school counselors do here at Hanford West, I've been given the opportunity to do all of it," Romero said.
After being in the works for more than five years, the partnership between FPU, Tulare County and Kings County Offices of Education finally came to life in the fall.
Romero and 11 other students were placed at area schools to complete their 800 required hours of clinical work or on-the-job training.
Dr. Dena Fiori is the Program Director. She says each student has a site supervisor who acts as a mentor.
Residents work eight hours a day, Tuesday through Friday.
They also receive regular professional development.
Marvin Lopez, the executive director of the program, says through federal and state grants, each resident receives a $45,000 stipend and each site mentor receives a $4,000 stipend.
"We figured the $45,000 living stipend for our residents was a good amount to allow them to go through the program in one year and be able to sustain themselves while they were getting the clinical experience, hands-on practice and mentorship through this program," Lopez said.
That money was a deciding factor for Romero, who was already working in higher education and would've likely had to complete his clinical hours unpaid.
"I was making good income, so wanting to pursue school counseling was a little scary, given that I was told I would have to basically work for free for 800 hours," Romero said.
Once students like Romero graduate from FPU and complete their residency, they'll be ready to hire with experience under their belt.
Fiori hopes many of the residents ultimately decide to invest back in the Central Valley.
"A lot of my students go and do their internships, and then they move away and I'm hoping that their residency really gets -- it grows roots for these residents that they want to stay here. They want to serve our really unique population." Fiori said.
FPU has plans to increase the number of residents and school locations next year.
If you'd like to learn more about the school counselor residency, you can find more information by clicking here.
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