How Imperial County Built a Unified School Counseling Community | Egg Talk with Denise Cabanilla
As part of the National School Counseling Leadership Conference 2025 Egg Talks series, Denise Cabanilla, Senior Director at the Imperial County Office of Education, shared the powerful story of how a community came together to rebuild and reimagine school counseling.
Drawing on the unique challenges and strengths of Imperial County, Denise highlighted the journey from recession-era setbacks and low morale to the creation of a unified, countywide school counseling community.
What began as a small roundtable of school counselors has grown into a comprehensive system of professional learning, collaboration, and accountability—one that ensures every school has access to a credentialed counselor and that students across the county are supported to thrive.
The Background
Imperial County, located at the southeastern tip of California, serves a vibrant and diverse agricultural community. With approximately 36,000 K-12 students, 75% of whom are socioeconomically disadvantaged and 40% multilanguage learners, the region has long faced systemic educational challenges. In 2001, the Imperial County Office of Education (ICOE) launched the Imperial Valley School Counselors’ Roundtable as part of a broader college-going initiative to improve postsecondary outcomes.
The Challenge
The profession had changed.
Following the 2008 recession, school counseling services were significantly impacted by budget cuts, resulting in the layoff of many counselors across the state. When Imperial County began hiring counselors again, ICOE observed that the profession had transformed. Expectations had shifted beyond college readiness to include mental health, equity, and whole-child support.
Returning school counselors faced low morale, outdated training, and a lack of confidence in leading comprehensive, data-informed programs. Administrators also needed clarity about the evolving role of school counselors.
The Solution
“If they didn’t sign up, I went and got them.”
To rebuild and reimagine school counseling in Imperial County, ICOE partnered with Hatching Results to launch the Imperial County School Counseling Academy. After a full year of trust-building and careful planning, ICOE convened every K–12 district in the county for a kickoff event requiring both school counselors and site and district administrators to attend. The Academy focused on implementing the ASCA National Model®, aligning Tier 1 services across districts, and using data to drive practice.
The Results
A countywide school counseling community.
ICOE sustained the regional school counseling academy, strengthened the School Counselors’ Roundtable, and built a unified, countywide school counseling community.
In 2025, every K–12 school in Imperial County had at least one credentialed school counselor for the first time in the county’s history. Through years of consistent support, accountability, and professional development, ICOE and Hatching Results helped transform counseling in the region into a comprehensive, student-centered, and data-driven practice.
“We have to love our people. We have to persist. We have to hold them accountable. And we have to build trust and give them a space... Leave your mascots outside when you come in. We’re one counseling community.”
The Imperial County Office of Education has continued to work with Hatching Results for many years. In 2025, they founded a groundbreaking new initiative: the School Counselor Induction Program, dedicated to training new hires on the Imperial County school counseling systems.
Watch the Talk
📽️ Watch Denise Cabanilla’s full Egg Talk from NSCLC 2025 here.
