Mindy Adams named Delaware School Counselor of the Year

Being named the Delaware School Counselor of the Year was a humbling experience for Milton Elementary’s Mindy Adams.

“I was shocked when they said my name,” Adams said. “I look at myself as a small part of what we’re doing here as a team. Milton Elementary is a hidden gem in the Cape district.”

Adams received the recognition at the Delaware School Counselor Association Spring Conference April 25. She is now up for national honors via the American School Counselor Association.

Adams said she had been nominated for the award in the past but felt she still had a lot to learn. When she was nominated this year, she said she was able to read the nomination submitted by coworkers. With more confidence in her role, she figured this was the year to try.

A portfolio she submitted for consideration had to include letters of recommendation; one was from a now-eighth-grader she counseled as an elementary student. 

“It was special,” Adams said. “It was nice to see I made some part of a difference in her life. She knew I believed in her.”

For five years, Adams has worked at Milton Elementary; she said she is the school’s first counselor. She previously worked as a counselor in Wicomico County elementary schools for 15 years. 

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve never had such an amazing team,” she said.

With close to 600 kids in school, Adams said she works together with other members of the mental health team to meet the needs of all children.

As a child, Adams said, she experienced trauma but did not have many resources to help; she said she decided when she grew up she wanted to do more for children who need such help. School is the ideal setting, she said.

Adams leads individual and group counseling sessions, and teaches classroom lessons on topics including problem solving, feelings, regulating emotions, testing strategies, sportsmanship and life skills.

Because of the pandemic, some children were unable to receive early intervention in preschool and now need extra help with socialization skills. Milton Elementary follows the Leader in Me philosophy, she said, so she helps students set academic and personal goals, and celebrate achievements.

Milton Elementary has phenomenal staff and teachers, she said, and the mental health team complements each other’s strengths. Milton is the only Delaware school with three nationally certified staff members on the mental health team, she said.

Adams earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of Maryland College Park and her master’s degree in school counseling from Loyola University.

She and her husband Kris have four children, Kasen, McKinley, Madison and Kellan, all at Cape schools.