Counselors help Knox Co. students transition from summer break to back in class

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — Several Kentucky school districts have completed their first two full weeks of the 2025-2026 school year.

The transition from summer break to being back in school can be challenging for some students, but local school districts are trying to make the switch as easy as possible.

In Knox County, one of the main focuses for school counselors is social-emotional learning among students.

What that means is counselors teach kids various skills in those areas that aim to help them be successful both in and out of the classroom.

The goal is to use a holistic approach for students, despite every child having different things they are going through.

Counselors recognize that the start of a new school year can be a challenge for many students, so they want to create an environment where they feel heard and valued.

“I’ve seen kids come in and tell me, ‘I had a hard summer, but I’ve been trying to focus more on myself, staying off social media.'” explained Amanda Williams. “I just had a kid talking about that, trying to focus more on themselves, their health, their physical health, or mental health.”

Williams is one of two counselors at Knox County Public Schools, alongside Tammy Bright.

The two said they spend a lot of time working with teachers and staff during professional development.

One thing specifically they’re encouraging during the first couple of weeks in school is for staff to have conversations with kids, ask them about their summers, and create a relationship with them early in the school year.

Williams and Bright work with students to improve their self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Bright said more and more kids in recent years have needed help with trauma.

By working on those previously listed traits, the hope is that over time, students will be able to not only have positive relationships with others but themselves as well and overcome any hurdle that may be in their way.

Mixing in working with teachers to recognize some of the early signs that something may be going on with a student, Bright said, seeing kids thriving thanks to their help is a one-of-a-kind feeling.

“We have seen several of our students in our small group settings who had struggled, who had been, you know, in detention or in the principal’s office or whatever, or had struggled just—it could be an internalizing behavior, just making your friends, sitting at the lunch table with someone, being involved in an activity,” Bright described. “We have seen those kids win, those Panther Way Awards, and be successful in the classroom for the remainder of the school year.”

Bright and Williams said the most important thing they want to ensure is that students are at school.

Being late just 10 minutes a day every day to school, they said, is the equivalent of missing a week’s worth of class time.

They also encourage students to block out the noise on social media, making sure they don’t equate their self-worth based on how many likes they get on a post.