JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jean Ribault High School counselor and alumna learned she is this year’s Florida School Counselor of the Year with a surprise announcement Thursday Morning.
The award was presented to Dr. Brianna Patterson during a regularly scheduled high school counselors meeting at the Schultz Center. Members of the Florida School Counselor Association (FSCA) were there to recognize Dr. Patterson’s significant positive impact on local students.
“I feel so overwhelmed with the most positive emotions,” Dr. Patterson shared with the crowd following the reveal. “It feels good to come back to my community and make a difference every day.”
The association said Dr. Patterson’s leadership at Jean Ribault High School has helped it attain a 90% retention rate in the school’s Early College Program, a doubling of students eligible for dual enrollment, and an increase in scholarship awards from $13 to $18 million last year.
Principal Dr. Gregory Bostic emphasized the vital role of school counselors in students’ lives, and said Dr. Patterson’s contributions played a part in the school’s recent achievement of an ‘A’ grade.
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Dr. Patterson has served as a school counselor at Jean Ribault High School for five years and will be celebrated at the FSCA Convention in November. She is also a candidate for the American School Counselor Association’s National School Counselor of the Year.
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