Theresa Putnam-Genz, School Counselor at Louisa-Muscatine Community School District, Columbus Community School District, and Muscatine Community College in Muscatine and Columbus Junction, Iowa, was named the 2019 Iowa Multi-Level School Counselor of the Year. The Iowa School Counselor Association (ISCA) gave this award to Ms. Putnam-Genz at the annual ISCA conference held in Des Moines on November 4th, 2019.
Ms. Putnam-Genz was recognized for the outstanding comprehensive and data-driven school counseling program she has developed and implemented at Louisa-Muscatine Community Schools, Columbus Community Schools, and Muscatine Community College. She has been instrumental in ensuring excellence in the counseling program through implementation of the ASCA national model.
Theresa has served as a multi-level school counselor since 2009 and is currently shared between Louisa-Muscatine Community School District, Columbus Community School District and Muscatine Community College. During that time, she has been involved in a number of professional activities including committee involvement and presentations to further the school counseling profession.
Superintendent Mike Van Sickle of Louisa-Muscatine Community School District shared, “Teaching students about college/career options, driving them to scholarship opportunities, talking to parents in the evenings, communicating with graduates and much more is what Ms. Putnam-Genz does” in her “new and innovative counseling program.” Jennifer Fernandez-Miranda, a former student, wrote “Mrs. Putnam is the most passionate counselor I have ever encountered, and she has been very helpful to multiple students. I know this because of the community she helped create at Muscatine and the connections she still has with Columbus students. She pushes us to be the best versions of ourselves. She encourages to take opportunities that we may not have had the guts to take on our own. She is there to comfort us during our difficult times and to celebrate with us during the best of times.”
