January 5, 2022

For the second consecutive year, Dripping Springs Elementary and Rooster Springs Elementary have garnered the prestigious CREST (Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas) award by the Texas School Counselor Association (TSCA) for the 2021-22 school year. Michelle Tasin and Gabriela Mora are the DSE counselors, and Kimberlee Guerrero and Karey Carroll are the RSE counselors.  

“I am so proud of our school counseling programs in DSISD,” said Director of SEL and Health Services Tisha Kolek. “Highlighting and celebrating the work that our school counselors do each day with our students, staff, and families is important. Each of our campus counseling programs advocate for student success and provide social and emotional support through our programming. Celebrating the two campuses who submitted the application for statewide recognition and then having both of them receive the CREST award is a celebration for our district and community.”

CREST is a continuous improvement program that gives school counselors an opportunity to demonstrate effective communication and a commitment to obtaining results. CREST helps counselors to evaluate their counseling programs, promote their programs to stakeholders in their district, demonstrate the effectiveness of their guidance and counseling programs through empirical means, and implement the Texas and national models for school counseling programs.

CREST looks at the counseling program in five categories:

• Introduction to the School and the Role of the Professional School Counselor
• Program Implementation Cycle
• Foundational Components
• Four Service Delivery Components
• Program Curriculum

Each counseling team prepares a digital submission that highlights these areas and communicates just what the counseling program is doing to help students succeed. These are sent to reviewers throughout the state of Texas to be judged according to pre-set standards of excellence.