We love recognizing educators and school personnel who are making a difference and Tara Washington is at the top of the list.

Tara has been a school counselor for 20 years and an active leader with the Louisiana School Counselor Association.  As a result of her work, school counselors continue to play a critical role in Louisiana schools by supporting their student academically, socially, and in college and career readiness.   Numerous school counseling students have been trained by her and are now implementing comprehensive school counseling programs in schools across the state.  This is significant because there is a great need for school counselors to implement programs that help students with social and emotional interventions, which is why Tara is a huge advocate for more school counselors.          

Tara was honored in 2018 by Former First Lady, Michelle Obama, as she was named Louisiana School Counselor of the Year and has been recognized twice as the East Baton Rouge Parish Schools Middle School Counselor of the Year.  She is also a founding member of 100 Black Women of Metropolitan Baton Rouge Chapter and is a member of the Women’s Council of Greater Baton Rouge.  She is currently applying for RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) at her school, which would make it one of only three schools in Louisiana to receive this prestigious award.  Tara’s goal is to have more RAMP schools in the state of Louisiana to better serve the youth in Louisiana schools.  Kudos to Tara and we encourage her to keep up the great work!