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  • PHOTO PROVIDED Summit Elementary School counselor Ken Elliott met with U.S. Rep. James Lankford, R-Edmond, during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. Elliott was honored as one of the top six school counselors in the nation by the American School Counselor Association. Elliott was instrumental in starting the Backpack Program at Sunset, which provides needy children a backpack of food to take home over the weekend.

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February 22, 2012

Edmond counselor is top 6 in nation

Patty Miller The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — Oklahoma’s School Counselor of the Year Kenneth Elliott was one of six finalists from across the nation vying for the national American School Counselor Association (ASCA) 2012 School Counselor of the Year.

He was honored in February in Washington, D.C., at an association gala that marked the beginning of National School Counseling Week.

Elliott, a counselor at Sunset Elementary School, recently returned from the nation’s capital, where, he said, “I really felt like I was in the midst of greatness.”

From visiting the Martin Luther King, Lincoln and Vietnam War memorials to meeting Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. James Lankford, Elliott said the personal time and attention demonstrated toward his group reflected a personal side to politics and really made the Capitol Hill experience one to remember.

After visiting with Lankford, Elliott said, “A strong working relationship between our two disciplines seemed to be forged, along with a commitment to collaborate in meeting the needs of our youth.”

Elliott started his counseling career 25 years ago while developing his crisis intervention skills in community agency work.

Thirteen years ago Elliott “took a leap of faith” into the school setting and has never looked back.

In addition to being a full-time professional counselor with Edmond schools, he is affiliated part-time with COPE Inc. in Oklahoma City.

Elliott is a certified K-12 school counselor, a licensed marital and family therapist and a clinically certified domestic violence counselor. He is also a certified trainer of three different suicide prevention techniques.

In addition, he was instrumental in starting the Backpack Program at Sunset, which provides needy children a backpack of food to take home over the weekend.

Elliott said he has witnessed greatness while working with other counselors and teachers in the Edmond schools, and upon his return home from Washington, D.C., he felt it necessary to go out into the community even more than he has done in the past.

“The counseling role in schools has changed dramatically because the needs of our community have changed,” Elliott said.

Counselors make a difference in children who suffer child abuse, domestic violence and suicide, Elliott said.

Violence prevention, intervention, and postvention have been a passion for him in both community and school settings.  

School counselors provide life-enhancing and life-saving interventions on a regular basis within school communities, Elliott said.

“Edmond Public School counselors in both the elementary and secondary schools are some of the best trained in suicide counseling,” said Lynne Rowley, executive director of elementary education.

Feb. 13 Elliott led a discussion of about 200 people in a Symposium on Suicide Risk and Response, a combined effort supported by Edmond’s schools, the Edmond Police Department, community agencies and individuals from the private sector.

During one of the professional development in-service programs held Feb. 21, Elliott co-led sessions on suicide related topics with Dr. Elissa Dyer, University of Central Oklahoma student counseling program; Edmond Police Officer Todd Strader, Crisis Intervention; EPD Officer Bervis Littles, School Resource Officer; and counselor Sheilah Stinnett.

Elliott will lead an all community-based program on suicide prevention at 6 p.m. at First United Methodist Church Feb. 29 and March 7.

The program is limited to 30 participants. To secure a spot call 341-0107.



pmiller@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 171

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