John Baker Elementary Shares Anti-Bullying Success
Barbara Smith teaches an anti bullying lesson at John Baker Elementary.
Barbara Smith isn't your grandma's school counselor.
Do you remember your school counselor? Maybe you had to go to the counselor's office if you got in trouble. Maybe you kept your nose clean and never saw your counselor. That's not the way things are done at John Baker, an Albuquerque Public Schools kindergarten through 5th elementary in the Northeast Heights. Counselor Barbara Smith knows every single kid and they all know her. It's not because they're in trouble. It's because she's committed to preventing trouble. "Teachers, parents and community members all have different ideas of what counselors do, based on when they were back in school. It's very different. We are part of the educational process now," she says.