Hereford Guidance Counselor Moves to Harford Schools

Hereford High School guidance counselor Kevin Ensor, who helped the school's college-bound seniors obtain about $9.5 million in financial aid offers this year, has accepted a position as the supervisor of school counseling for the Harford County Public Schools system. 

"I will be hiring and evaluating elementary, middle and high school counselors, and providing staff development," Ensor said. "It will be a major challenge getting to all the schools and providing counselors with effective and timely feedback. With budget shortfalls, I will need to discover ways to do more with less."

At Hereford, Ensor's classroom-oriented counsel of Advancement Via Individual Determination students were offered approximately $9.5 million in scholarship funds from colleges, private sources, and through the federal and state government.

"The program here is developmental and comprehensive," he said. "Classroom presentations are delivered to each grade level, and parents are encouraged to schedule yearly appointments to monitor progress and learn about the college admissions process."

Ensor, 52, graduated with a B.S. in English in 1983 from Towson University. He earned his masters in education and educational administration from Loyola College in 1985.

He also received a masters of education in counseling, and a PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Maryland College Park in 1989.

Ensor became a department chairman of counseling at Catonsville High School in 1999 before transferring to Hereford, where he's worked as an advanced placement psychology teacher and college counselor, since 2001. 

"(College counseling has) been a position in the private schools for years," Ensor said. "But I wrote an article about four or five years ago to the Journal of College Admission that was basically saying that it was time to specialize in public schools like the private schools have done for years."

In response to the article, he said counselors across the country were asking for advice on how to implement college counseling programs in their schools 

Ensor has  taught graduate-level counseling and psychology courses while working as an adjunct professor at Loyola University, McDaniel College and Stevenson University. 

"As a college counselor, meeting with students early in their high school career not only helps to identify their strengths and weaknesses," Ensor said. "But it allows an opportunity to find out what their interests are, and to discuss the importance of how they relate to course selection and ultimately, choice of college major and occupation."