A New Year with New Goals

In December, Mrs. Meredith Gerckens, a Nutley High school counselor, was appointed to the position of Coordinator of School Counseling for grades Pre-K-12. As Coordinator of School Counseling, Mrs. Gerckens is in charge of the school counseling program in Nutley for all grades in the district, creating programs and services to benefit all students. She is responsible for designing a comprehensive district-wide program. 

At the end of college, Mrs. Gerckens made the decision to go into the school counseling field. “I wanted to be that to help people through whatever they were going through,” she said. “In high school I felt that I didn't get that help and I wanted to be that person for others in the future.” 

Mrs. Gerckens attended Gettysburg College for her undergraduate and majored in psychology, with the goal of pursuing a career in the mental health field. She also attended Montclair State University for Master’s degree in school counseling. She earned her supervisor certification, director of school counseling  certification, and her principal’s certification there as well. 

Working at NHS for seven years, Mrs. Gerckens loved seeing her students grow and watch how much they changed over their four years. Working in her new position, she is most excited to work with the younger grades because she wants to extend her reach to the middle and elementary schools. She also wants to focus on emotional wellness and educating students’ parents. She hopes to design programs that are proactive for mental health and wellness.