Elk Mound educator named School Counselor of the Year

Madeline Fuerstenberg, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·5 min read

Oct. 12—ELK MOUND — An everyday morning assembly turned into an uproarious celebration on Wednesday as Cindy Bourget, a school counselor for Elk Mound Middle School, was surprised with an unexpected honor.

Unbeknownst to her, Bourget has been selected as the Wisconsin School Counselor Association's School Counselor of the Year — and she heard the good news in front of the entire student body, all of her colleagues and her family during an assembly she believed was for celebrating a student's athletic achievements.

"I'm very humbled," Bourget told the Leader-Telegram after receiving her award. "I was not expecting this at all. I'm just very fortunate to work in a district that supports me and the initiatives and the growth that I want to see in our students, and provides me the opportunities that I need to be able to meet those needs."

The announcement of the award, which came from Elk Mound Principal Christopher Hahn, was met with screams and stomps of celebration from the school's over 300 students.

The purpose of the School Counselor of the Year Award is to recognize an individual who devotes their career to serving as an advocate for Wisconsin students, addressing their academic, social-economic and career developments, the WSCA website states. These individuals influence the school counseling profession through leadership, advocacy and collaboration.

After a short introduction from Hahn, Bourget was presented her award by WSCA Executive Director Stacy Eslick, who noted that there are over 2,200 school counselors in the state.

"This is the first time that the Wisconsin School Counselor Association has ever come and surprised one of our School Counselors of the Year," Eslick said to the students in the audience. "So, you are the first group to have this honor."

And to Bourget, Eslick said, "Thank you. Thank you for all you do for your students, your families, your staff. We so appreciate you, and look forward to honoring you for all of the next year."

The idea to surprise Bourget came from Hahn, who nominated her for the honor a few months ago. When the WSCA contacted him first about the award, he knew he had to make the news extra special.

So, Hahn invited Bourget's husband, parents and the entire school to celebrate with her.

"I nominated Cindy because she is just so passionate about what she does and helping our students learn and grow academically, behaviorally and socially, and she just has a bigger vision," Hahn said. "She understands how all of the programming she provides comes together to support our students in so many different facets of their educational experience."

Hahn said he can't thank Bourget enough for the work she does, and he can't stress just how deserving she is.

"She truly pours her heart and soul into what she does every single day for her students," he added. "We are very blessed to have her."

Bourget has been with Elk Mound Middle School for four years. She has worked in school counseling for eight years.

Prior to her entry into the school counseling field, Bourget said she worked for UW-Extension's 4-H and youth development programs.

"I saw the spectacular growth that can come from supporting a child through leadership, and I wanted to be more on the front end of it," Bourget said. "School counseling allows me to be in the schools working directly with all students on leadership skills and coping skills and growth and success in a more direct way."

Today, Bourget said it is her goal to provide every middle schooler at Elk Mound the skills needed to thrive when things are good, and show resilience when things are tough.

"My number one priority as a school counselor is helping every student grow," she explained. "Every student has the abilities to succeed. Every student is able to get to the point where they feel good about themselves, know who they are, and are able to be not only a productive citizen, but somebody who is at peace and confident with themselves."

Bourget added that she would also like to see the school's counseling program be recognized by the National School Counseling Association or the American School Counseling Association as a "Program of Excellence."

This would indicate Elk Mound has built a program that is not only data-driven — allowing Bourget to know exactly what the needs of her students are — but is also maneuverable enough to meet new needs as they arise.

"If the last three years have taught us anything, it's that we do need to be maneuverable and be able to support our students in that resiliency goal," Bourget said.

"My students have needs that need to be supported, and that is the biggest challenge," she added. "On the flipside of that, I have built a lot of capacity through my teachers. My teachers are wonderful. They know exactly how to help their students. And I think all people in education want what's best for their students. As a school counselor, I've been able to use my role to help empower them to help along the way, too."

Bourget said she'd like to thank all those who supported her, especially the students, faculty and staff at Elk Mound. It's humbling, she said, to be honored for work they all do together.