Erin Curtis

Park County School District 1’s Erin Curtis was chosen as Wyoming’s 2026 State School Counselor of the Year, making her one of a select few in the nation to be recognized. 

“A lot of what you do as a school counselor is kind of a background work. You’re not out in front of people, you’re talking to students one-on-one, and so there’s not always a lot of recognition for school counselors,” said Curtis, a counselor at the Shoshone Learning Center. “So it does feel good for someone to be like, ‘Hey, I see what you’re doing and I think you do a really good job.’ You know, it’s always nice to hear that.”

Shortly after this year’s graduation, where Curtis helped recognize the SLC class of 2025, she was notified of the award by the American School Counselor Association. Receiving the email was “exhilarating, it was an honor,” she said.

To receive the award you have to be nominated by a peer or an administrator. Curtis isn’t sure who nominated her and hasn’t asked, but she thinks it may have come from within the state’s school counselor association where she served for six years in a variety of roles.

In Curtis’ 10 years as a school counselor she has worked with every grade level, splitting her time between the SLC and other PCSD1 schools. Curtis has been solely at the SLC for the last two years.

The district continuously reevaluates mental health supports for students, she said. This began when concealed carry and school safety discussions arose in 2017.

“The board was taking a proactive approach … and mental health was a piece of that,” Curtis said. “So when they evaluated that as part of that process, that’s when they recognized that we didn’t have enough mental health support within the school.”

The board wanted Parkside Elementary School and Powell High School to have more counseling support. So Curtis split time between Parkside and the SLC and then Powell High School and the SLC. When the time came that the district was paring down on split positions she moved full time to the SLC.

It’s where her heart is, she said. In her 10 years of counseling she has worked at the SLC for nine years (she spent one year in Meeteetse) and while she knows everybody is different she calls working at the alternative school “the dream job for school counselors,” the SLC has the best students, she said. 

“Park County School District 1 has been blessed to have Mrs. Curtis make a positive impact in three of our schools, but in my opinion the Shoshone Learning Center alternative high school is where her talents are really maximized,” said Shannon Blackmore, the SLC coordinator, in a release from ASCA. “I am so grateful for her depth [of] knowledge and resources that make our school and students stronger every day.”

Counseling looks different for every grade level and school, Curtis said. At the SLC, which is much smaller than PCSD1’s other schools, counselors get to be more focused on the person, so her first step is getting to know the students she’s working with.

“I don’t think you can do much without that part, but we’re super lucky here,” Curtis said, adding, “I meet with every student every week, and then I also do small groups, so I’m meeting with the same students several times a week.”

Each student is different and has different needs, she added. 

She is grateful that Park County School District 1 prioritizes mental health for students.

“It’s a really good place to work,” she said, adding, “I think it might speak to the fact that we have two school counselors of the year [Kara Miller in 2023]. We have the capacity to do our job.”

Curtis and the nation’s other recognized counselors will be recognized in Washington, D.C., in January.