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Riverside’s Farnsworth is counselor of the year | February 12, 2018 By PATRICK ADRIAN padrian@eagletimes.com Riverside Middle School Principal Steve Cone and counselor Moria Farnsworth share a smile. – PATRICK ADRIAN SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Students and faculty at Riverside Middle School used a Friday assembly to honor school counselor Moria Farnsworth for being named Vermont’s Outstanding School Counselor of the Year. Farnsworth is this year’s recipient of the James F. Cawley Award, an annual distinction issued by the Vermont School Counselor Association for a counselor’s outstanding leadership, advocacy and service to the school community, During assembly, 11 eighth-grade students gathered by the stage, each holding a small bouquet of flowers. Farnsworth broke into tears as the students individually addressed her to express gratitude. “Even when I’m having a pretty rough time, [you’re] there for me,” said one named Austin. “You always push people to do their best, regardless of their background,” Destiny said in a letter read by teacher Becka Polk. “Look at me. I’ve come a long way because of you and I know others have too.” Farnsworth will be officially presented the award later this month. But with the week being National School Counselor Week, Principal Steve Cone wanted to ensure Farnsworth received some recognition. “I have a special place in my heart for [school counselors],” said Cone. Interestingly, Cone had been Farnsworth’s counselor when she was a seventh-grader at Riverside. This is Farnsworth’s 10th year as a school counselor, her ninth at Riverside. Farnsworth likens her path to becoming a school counselor to “a journey.” She knew she wanted a career in the counseling field but finding her niche came later. She credits a mentoring colleague Jan Wright, a teacher at Springfield High School where Farnsworth was working as a behavior assistant, for giving her the push she needed to go into school counseling. “I love it,” Farnsworth says of her position, “I get to work with students individually, I do group work, and get into classrooms. I get to really mix it up. It’s never boring.” “We have been lucky to have her,” Cone said of Farnsworth. Cone said it’s especially important in this day and age to have adults in schools like Farnsworth. Many people are unaware the amount of work students are expected to do nor the additional stresses and issues they must shoulder.
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