Gateway school counselor: Advocacy is goal year-round

There’s a lot in store for Gateway School District counselor Colleen Tortorella this month.

Current president of the Allegheny County School Counselors Association, she helped plan the group’s next conference, slated for Feb. 1 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

There are typically four meetings each school year, with the focus being on advocacy for counseling and the appropriate role of school counselors.

“Our belief is that every student needs and deserves a school counselor,” said Tortorella, who is in her 30th year of counseling. She began at the elementary and middle school; 2023-24 marks her 21st year at the high school.

And with Feb. 5 being the start of National School Counseling Week, she also wants to express the importance of counselors at every level of students’ development.

“Our premise is to advocate for the students and show leadership,” Tortorella said.

Tortorella is currently Gateway’s junior class counselor.

“We follow the students through their high school career. I have the class of 2025,” she said. After her seniors graduate, Tortorella will start again with the freshman class and work with them through graduation.

Along with Tortorella, Gateway counselors Kurt Martin (ninth grade), David Heavner (10th grade) and Joseph Fraas (12th grade) form the counseling department, along with secretary Kelly Manso. They provide support for more than 1,110 students at the high school.

“We do a lot of post-secondary planning and preparation, focusing on life after high school,” Tortorella said. And, although there is no statewide mandate, Gateway follows their own counseling curriculum, which is “deliberate and intentional” in its design, she said.

A large part of time is spent utilizing academic achievement strategies, preparing for assessments, discussing personal wellness and preparing for students’ postsecondary options such as completing college applications, career searches and learning life skills.

“Graduating high school is the expectation; preparing for life after high school is the goal. It doesn’t matter what they do, it only matters that they want to do something.” Tortorella said. Goals range from joining the military to attending a community or a four-year college, going straight into the workforce or attending a trade school.

“I want (students) to know that I take their academic success very seriously,” Tortorella said.

Gateway counselors provide many resources for post-secondary planning. In October, there was a college and career day and on May 1, the school will hold a skill and trade day. Tortorella has taken students on many field trips to local colleges.

“I want students to know this is a safe environment,” said Tortorella, who has three children of her own. “I see myself as a generalist. If I don’t have the resources a student needs, I will find a way to connect them.”