Selected by the district as the first Head Counselor at Galileo, Ms. Celia Chan has learned a lot about what it means to oversee the counseling department in a very short period of time. Ms. Chan applied internally for the role of Head Counselor and was selected after a competitive interview process.
The role of Head Counselor came about because it is required that when a school in SFUSD has more than one counselor position, there must be a Head Counselor role to oversee the department. Ms. Chan was interested in this opportunity as she had been in the field for a long time and wanted to take on the challenge.
Upon receiving the role, Ms. Chan shared, “I came into it [the head counselor position] with an open mind but I was also aware that there would be new experiences and obstacles.”
For the last 25 years as a counselor, Ms. Chan has been responsible for supporting students, teachers and staff alike. This includes scheduling, academic guidance, keeping students updated on opportunities or events, and more.
For her new position, Ms. Chan is now responsible for multiple duties, such as helping Assistant Principals, running reports, sending out the weekly newsletter, and updating the Galileo website. This position adds more complexity to her former duties as well, which she is still responsible for, requiring more time for her to complete her responsibilities both at work and at home.
Ms. Chan has found many things she enjoys about her role. When asked how she feels about becoming Head Counselor, she said, “The only difference I feel is that I have more work to do, there are more teachers and department heads reaching out for support. After Ms. Schkoll left, there’s a lot of students and parents from her caseload reaching out, and I’m trying to take care of that too. Luckily, we have a really good team together to support the students”
With benefits, come challenges. Ms Chan also took time to elaborate on some obstacles she faces daily with her additional obligations. She said, “I think the biggest challenge is time, you’re kind of pulled away in different directions and tasks. There’s not enough time to do everything in the day. There’s also less time to meet students one-on-one.”
