Desiree Speed, School Counselor Coordinator at St. Louis Public Schools
This month’s featured partner is Desiree Speed, who serves as the coordinator of school counselors at St. Louis Public Schools. Desiree has a deep commitment to SLPS. She has worked for the district for nearly 30 years in several different capacities. She started as a substitute teacher at Sumner High School and loved working with the students so much that she went back to UMSL to earn her teaching certificate and two masters’ degrees. In the late 1990s, Desiree worked as a counselor at Beaumont High School; in 2003, she transitioned to Gateway STEM. Two years ago, Desiree moved into her current position as the coordinator of all the districts’ counselors (elementary, middle, and high school) – a big job!
Desiree described her many different responsibilities, from consulting on counselors’ cases to working with PreventED to taking students on an annual out-of-town college visit. One of her goals in her current position is to increase communication among the counselors about community resources and events. To this end, Desiree sends out two weekly newsletters to her counselors. Desiree clearly loves her job. “I’m learning stuff all the time. There’s never a dull moment!” she says.
Desiree is a fan of Project CONTACT. While the district employs therapists, so far there are not enough to have one in each SLPS school; also, each therapist can only take so many cases. Therefore, Desiree appreciates that her counselors can refer students who experience a traumatic event to CONTACT. “So far it’s been a great relationship,” she says of working with Project CONTACT staff. One of the things Desiree appreciates about CONTACT is that services to families are free of charge. “Any time we can find no-cost opportunities, that’s a win for our families,” she says. Desiree also mentions that she loves that students can get an appointment with a CONTACT therapist without sitting on a long waiting list.
One of Desiree’s biggest challenges is staffing. SLPS is currently down 13 social workers, and there is also a shortage of nurses. There will be openings for counselors at the end of this school year. Desiree encourages anyone interested in working for SLPS to see slps.org/careers for more information.