Spokane Public Schools' Fondra Magee named Washington's school counselor of the year

Fondra Magee has been working with young students for nearly four decades now. She's been a teacher, a parent, a volunteer and a school counselor, all of which have culminated in a now award-winning career.

On Wednesday, Magee learned that she would be awarded with the Washington School Counselor Association's highest honor — the School Counselor of the Year.

Magee began her career as a kindergarten teacher in 1986. However, she soon noticed that some kids were unable to learn effectively due to non-academic circumstances. So in 1992, she went back to school and got her master's degree in counseling.

After a period of time raising her own family, Magee got hired as a school counselor at Stevens Elementary School in 2015, where she's worked for almost a decade now. In that time, she's worked tirelessly to cultivate a kind community at Stevens, and by extension a kinder Spokane. 

"Everyday I'm striving to create a school environment that makes students feel comfortable asking for help," Magee says.

While her work is largely the same as any elementary school counselor, it's her extra efforts that set her apart.

Namely, she spearheaded the creation of the Kindness Drive, an annual event where students bring food and other necessities to Family Promise — an emergency shelter for families that's walking distance from Stevens.

Outside of school, she was one of the founding members of Lion's Heart, a Spokane-based nonprofit that helps children work through grief that comes with losing a loved one.

Despite all her work, Magee remains humble.

"I feel very honored for sure, but I don't feel any more deserving than so many of my colleagues across Spokane Public Schools, and really, across Washington," Magee says. "This award is for every single [counselor] because we don't do it alone."

Magee says it was hard for her to even accept the nomination for this award. She almost ignored the email with instructions to be considered for the award, until her oldest son convinced her to respond.

"The questions were fun to answer and it was a great process to go through and kinda evaluate my career," Magee explains.
While Magee's excitement for the award was a bit muted, the students and staff that she works with daily more than made up for it. Everyone gathered in the gymnasium to surprise her when she logged into a normal-seeming Zoom meeting. Students and staff cheered for her as many held up handmade posters for the school counselor they've come to love immensely.

"It brought me to tears," Magee says. "This is a demanding job, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

"I wake up every day very blessed to be able to do what I do," she concludes.