Henrico's Top Teachers – Heather Sharpe, Short Pump Middle School, counseling

An auto mechanic, an animator, a data scientist, an orthodontist, a nurse…and bagels – school counselor Heather Sharpe works to bring all of these to the Short Pump Middle School library for her students to learn that no matter who they are, there is a career for them.

As the school counseling director for Short Pump Middle, Sharpe’s philosophy is that all students should have access to their counselor, not just the students going through a hard time. And Sharpe works to reach all 1,100 students at Short Pump through her “Bagels and Bright Futures” program, her new take on traditional career fairs that aims to reach more student interests.

Twice each month, Sharpe invites speakers from a variety of career fields to speak to a group of 40 students, with a bagel breakfast offered as an enticement for the middle-schoolers. Since she started the program, every event has filled up almost immediately. 

And unlike the bigger “Career Day” Short Pump has done, which had all students walk through different career booths in the gym, Sharpe’s smaller program allows shyer students to feel more comfortable asking questions and creates more connection between the students and the speaker, she said.

“We’ve had some students that aren’t typically the ones who participate come, and when we get them with a career they’re interested in, watching them raise their hand and ask question after question, they’re so excited that someone is talking about something that they might want to do,” she said.

Sharpe’s philosophy of reaching all students was inspired by her own school counselor in eighth grade. Back where she grew up in Louisa County, Sharpe remembers her school counselor as a very visible figure in the school, being involved in student clubs and organizations, which helped Sharpe feel more comfortable approaching her to ask for guidance.

“That’s something that I feel really passionate about now as a counselor, is just making sure the students know who I am and that I’m not just here for a hard day,” Sharpe said. “I think sometimes there’s this perception that a counselor is there only for certain situations and not all students go see their counselor, and we work really hard to make that not the case. I want to be here for all students.”

Sharpe, who has been at Short Pump for the past 15 years, makes sure that she and the department’s other three counselors visit Health and PE classes every month to maintain a visible presence in the school. Through class visits, small group meetings, and individual counseling sessions, Sharpe is able to interact with all students at Short Pump.

In middle school, students often grapple with academic stress for the first time, getting their first bad grade on a test and feeling like it defines them. Middle-schoolers also have to learn how to balance new friendships with old friendships from elementary school, Sharpe said, which can lead to relationship conflict and struggles with regulating emotions.

When meeting with students going through a rough time, Sharpe tries to connect over the positive and form bonds with students based on aspects of their life that are independent from their hardships. It could be a figurine hanging on their backpack or a sport they enjoy, Sharpe will find some way to make her students feel seen outside of their conflicts.

“You want them to feel like a person separate from the hard time, that they’re not defined by whatever is going on in their life,” she said. “Middle-schoolers love to talk about things that they’re doing. They may not always want to talk about their feelings, but they want to share what they’re good at.”

Even with all of her obligations – heading the new career program, the school’s counseling department, monthly classroom presentations, and meeting with her own individual students – Sharpe always makes students and families feel that they are important, said one nominator.

“[Sharpe] is a caring, kind, trusted adult for her students, who assists them with every struggle from anxiety to failing grades, and there are a lot of struggles in middle school,” they wrote. “She is exceptional at her job. Even with all of her extended responsibilities as the counseling director, she always puts her students first and is never too busy to give the time to her students that they deserve.”

For Sharpe, the best moments are when students come to her to share their small successes. 

“Seeing the look on their faces when they bring a grade up or when they handle a situation positively, just seeing them be so excited that they want to tell me, it feels like such an honor,” she said. “When they seek me out to tell me a win that they have been working towards, it is just so meaningful that they thought of me to share.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.