Sycamore High School families will work with one counselor for all four years under a new assignment system the counseling department launched for 2026-27.
The department replaced its old grade-level model, which matched each counselor to a single grade, with assignments based on student last name, The Leaf, the school's student newspaper, reported Thursday, Oct. 22. Under the previous system, a family with children in different grades could end up juggling multiple counselors at once.
"Some families had to work with three or four different counselors at once, which was a lot to manage," counseling department head Megan Brenner told The Leaf.
Brenner has led the eight-person counseling team for two years. The team includes counselors Brian Sweeney, Rose Mitchell, Reid Faherty, Amanda Clark, Mark Millett, Ann Delehanty-Koenig and Haley Harris. Brenner said the group worked with building leadership to keep the transition on track.
The last-name system means a single counselor stays with a student and their siblings throughout high school. Brenner said the change makes it easier to build lasting relationships with students and families over time.
School leadership prompted the shift by challenging the department to rethink its approach, according to The Leaf's report. The counseling team then developed a plan aimed at better serving the range of needs across the Sycamore High community.
Brenner told the student newspaper she wants students to understand they are gaining "an extra adult in your corner to help navigate high school," not losing relationships they have already built with other staff.
The specific last-name ranges assigned to each of the seven counselors were not included in The Leaf's report. It is also unclear whether the change required Sycamore Community Schools board approval or was adopted as a departmental decision.
No upcoming school board meeting date or public comment window related to the counseling change appeared in available records.
