Counseling Petition 2025

Hire more counselors at NYC Public Schools!

Our interest in the lack of counselors in NYC public schools arose due to a prevalent pattern that we, students who attend different high schools, all noticed. Despite being from 5 different boroughs, this issue continuously proved itself to hinder the academic and career prospects of our peers. This became publicized in the 1990s, but now, even 35 years later, we still face the same predicament.

The summer preceding our senior year, we took part in a program at Columbia University: Freedom and Citizenship. During this program, we intensely engaged in daily seminars, readings, and writings on texts based on Columbia University’s Core Curriculum. This allowed us to develop knowledge in the foundations of philosophical, political, social, and economic studies. For the past year, our cohort has dedicated our civic project to the aforementioned issue: a lack of counselors in New York City public high schools. 

As a result, we formally introduced a survey to Aviation High School, A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, Democracy Prep High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, University Heights High School, The Brooklyn School for Math & Research, Frederick Douglass Academy, Liberty High School Academy for Newcomers, and Newtown High School, asking both counselors and students to speak about their experiences at their institutions. 

The survey showed that 83.1% of students agree that their schools should hire more counselors and only 33.3% of counselors agree or strongly agree that their counselors to student ratio is proportionate. 

You are a member of this community and we believe that your voice can make a significant impact. Your involvement in this cause demonstrates your unwavering dedication to maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of our school system.

We urge you to sign this petition to request for more counselors!