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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2020)
La Grande Pride www.lagrandesd.org • March 2020 11 DISTINGUISHED FACULTY LGSD honors School Counselor Teresa Dowdy By Trish Yerges advocate for also praised kids, creating Dowdy’s per- Few school counselors programs that formance as a can say that they have are highly valu- counselor. “Te- been nationally recog- able for them.” resa is one of nized for their exemplary In the coun- the key persons work as a professional seling role, Bax- that makes the school counselor, but ter observed machine go,” he that’s true of the La how tenacious said. “She has Grande High School’s and unrelent- a great atten- Dowdy Teresa Dowdy, who was ing Dowdy has tion to detail one of three counselors in been in advo- and to doing Oregon to win this na- cating for the students. what’s right for kids.” tional honor. “Behind closed doors she But Dowdy’s impact at She was honored with spends literally hours school goes beyond the the 2019-20 College with kids who are having student body. “She does Board Counselor Recog- troubles or even to the our staff wellness and nition Award during the extent where they may college career night, and National School Counsel- be in crisis,” he said. she’s the first one to hop ing Week, February 3-7. The mental health in when a staff member The award recognized aspect has become such has a loss or when we’re Dowdy as an exemplary a big part of what coun- doing a lunch or any kind school counseling profes- selors do every day and of staff culture climate, sional, who has proven Dowdy has become a making the school feel to be a lifelong learner, really reliable support to good,” Smith said. collaborator, advocate, in- the students. In terms of Dowdy is quick to vol- novator and results-ori- academic guidance, she unteer, and she does that ented counselor, commit- has been tracking their out of the goodness of her ted to student success credits, helping them heart, he added. and opportunity. remain on track for grad- “She has a gift for tak- Dowdy has been work- uation and making sure ing care of people, staff ing for the La Grande they get scholarships members,” said Smith. School District for about toward their next step of “It has made her suc- 27 years, teaching jour- education. cessful at the high school nalism, business and Dowdy is the counselor with what she’s done. yearbook, but also as a for both the freshman She has a huge heart and volleyball coach for years, and junior classes, abou wants to help.” and since 2007 as a coun- 350 students. She will Dowdy has remains selor. LHS Principal follow them so that next connected with the stu- Brett Baxter has worked year she’ll have sopho- dents through volleyball with her for about 18 of mores and seniors. Stay- and in her office. “The those years. ing with the same stu- kids know she will lis- “She is absolutely stu- dents so she really knows ten to them and help dent centered,” said Bax- them. them with whatever ter. “I’ve always known LHS Assistant Prin- they need,” Smith added. her to be an outstanding cipal Brett Smith “They also know that she will hold them account- able, yet love them and do whatever she can for them. It’s a really good gift that she’s got.” One of her counseling colleagues, Chelsee Ro- han, has known Dowdy for over 20 years. “Teresa is an excep- tionally hard worker,” she said. “She spends many hours at school working for kids, families and fellow teachers, and she goes to lots of differ- ent conferences outside the walls of school to find helpful things for stu- dents at our school, ways to support them.” Her dedication to the kids and their families is a top priority. It’s not unusual to find Dowdy working from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and at lots of evening activities and events at the school. “She is a great ad- vocate for people who maybe are marginalized in our world in some ways,” said Rohan. “She really advocates for stu- dents, families and her colleagues when she feels they need someone in their corner.” Dowdy is a life-long learner and is constantly getting trained through reading and learning new methods and then utilizing those methods as a counselor at LHS. Rohan said that Dowdy really cares about people, what happens to them and how she can help them. Consequently, step- ping into the role of Staff Wellness Coordinator comes as no surprise to her colleagues. “With the district’s Wellness grant that they received last year, she’s on the Well- ness committee for the district and then also for LHS, she’s the coordina- tor,” said Rohan. “She has a lot of fun organizing events like our (current) weight loss challenge.” Though Dowdy is very modest about her rec- ognition awards, Rohan said that she’s also won a “Leadership in Coun- seling” award in 2018 through the Oregon School Counselor Asso- ciation. In addition, she has won an award from the La Grande Cham- ber of Commerce for her amazing work of raising thousands of dollars for the LHS athletic depart- ment and their activities. Dowdy’s colleagues and other LHS staff find it a pleasure to work with her, and they share Smith’s sentiments. “Peo- ple like Teresa are in- valuable and sometimes few and far between,” he said. “She’s awesome.”
