Catching Up with an Exceptional School Counselor

We first introduced you to Dr. Venisa Beasley-Green in early 2021.  She shared her passion for making students ready for college and their careers. Recognizing the concept that underrepresented students may not pursue roles they have not encountered or observed, Dr. Beasley-Green creates innovative college exploration initiatives. Now, almost five years later, she is still a school counselor at Carver Elementary School and has accomplished so much recently. 

One way that school counselors get students excited about college is by coordinating college visits. It can be especially impactful to visit colleges further away to show students they have options across the country. However, these types of trips can be pricey once you add up the cost of flights, hotel rooms, and activities. 

Dr. Beasley-Green has created a lower-cost way through the school-based mentoring grant she has received for the past couple of years to still provide this amazing opportunity for students: the HBCU day trip! For the past few years, students have flown to a city to tour a historically black college. They’ve explored the city in a single day and fly back to Chicago that evening. 

The first year, students visited Nashville, Tennessee. They saw Tennessee State University and Fisk University, and they even received a $50 gift card from a community partner through the “WOW” program to buy college swag from the university bookstore! They visited the African American music museum, somehow fitting everything in a single day to fly home and be back at school the very next day. 

Last year, students visited Washington, D.C. to see Howard University. They also took selfies outside the White House and visited the Smithsonian Museum learning about Emmett Till. 

Student voice will help decide where the students head this school year. Options include Atlanta, New Orleans, and Memphis, so we will have to wait and see where they decide to go! 

This school year is off to a great start for Dr. Beasley-Green because she is in her “Winning Season!” In November, she will be honored as the Illinois Elementary School Counselor of the Year by the Illinois School Counselor Association. She has also received the Chicago Teachers Union Advocate Award for her work advocating for school funding for the “WE CARE” Mentoring Program where she testified on the Hill in Springfield. The “WE CARE” mentoring program allows veteran educators to mentor early educators her testimony assisted in securing funding to keep the program alive, and lastly she was awarded the 2025 Partnership Award from Metropolitan Family Services

While these awards aren’t the main reason she loves her work, she acknowledges that it’s a nice way to finish her career on a high note as she prepares for the next chapter of her life after 30-plus years of service to the children of Chicago. She is currently running for office as the next Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund Trustee in this November's election. 

She believes that this is going to be an incredibly successful school year at Carver, thanks in part to her strong relationship with Principal Venus DeLoach. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by non-counseling duties, Dr. Beasley-Green explains that Principal DeLoach empowers her to continue to work on behalf of students and the community by supporting her ideas and providing the resources to help her implement them. Dr. Beasley-Green admits that this work is hard and good principal-counselor relationships are crucial to increase student achievement. She often reminds her students that people are investing in their success, so it’s important that they go out and support others in their community as well. 

Dr. Beasley-Green acknowledges that she only has a few more school years left before she retires. But what is so amazing about her work is that she has built an amazing foundation that others will be able to build on even after she no longer works at Carver. When you mention Dr. Beasley-Green’s name, others immediately mention her dedication not just to students, but to the counseling profession.  Her expertise, energy and knowledge has earned her recognition throughout the counseling profession. She is a sought-after conference speaker, and school counselor leader, currently serving as the Network 13 PLC lead under the leadership of Dr. Terrycita Perry, Chief of Network 13 Schools. 

“It’s so important to expose students to a rigorous curriculum, life-changing field trips such as our college day trips, and creating partnerships to bring in resources such as mental health counseling for both our students and parents,” she said. Dr. Green has built countless partnerships to lift up the Altgeld Community like the high school diploma program in partnership with the City Colleges for parents right here at the school, as well as financial literacy being taught to our school community. We are providing wraparound services to make sure that our students on the Far South Side are on a level playing field, and this work just makes me so excited!”. If you are interested in donating to any of Dr. Beasley-Green’s college experiences for her students in the Altgeld community she is an email away at vabeasley-green@cps.edu.