BCPS Counselors, Advocates Recognized By Counseling Association

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD - The Baltimore County Association for Counseling and Development has named its 2020 school counselors and school counseling advocate of the year.

The following counselors and advocate have been recognized:

• Silvana Alsamadi - Elementary School Counselor of the Year
• Robin Taylor-Chadwick - Middle School Counselor of the Year
• Stephanie Campbell - High School Counselor of the Year
• Dr. Amalio Nieves – School Counseling Advocate of the Year

Alsamadi, school counselor at Chapel Hill Elementary School, provides individual counseling, special issues group counseling, classroom guidance lessons and mediation of peer issues. She collaborates with teachers, staff and parents, participates in individualized education program meetings and completes classroom observations. She contributes to her professional community by publishing articles about topics such as screening tests for emotional problems and the need for gay-straight alliances in rural high schools – and facilitating presentations on topics related to welcoming Muslim students and parents.

Taylor-Chadwick, school counseling department chair at Sparrows Point Middle School, is a leader on the school’s equity team, provided fundamental support in developing the school’s “positive behavioral interventions and supports,” led the implementation of restorative circles and created an advisory program, specialized small groups and successful mentoring programs. She guides students through the high school magnet school application process, organizes the school’s annual career day, and facilitates a program that helps families in need during the holidays.

Campbell, a school counselor at Loch Raven and Perry Hall high schools, was nominated by Kelly A. O'Brien Guerra, a parent of 2019 and 2020 Loch Raven High graduates and a Baltimore City Schools educator. Guerra describes Campbell as “without a doubt … the best counselor that I have ever met or worked with."

Nieves, the 2020 School Counseling Advocate of the Year, is the executive director of the BCPS Department of Social-Emotional Support.