Amy Baltimore is a former missionary kid who grew up experiencing first hand what it is like to serve the needs of children with deep developmental trauma. With an undergraduate degree in musical theater and a masters degree in school counseling, she began her career by leaning into her passion for supporting the positive growth and development of students primarily in grades K-8 through musical theater programming and school counseling.
After 12 years of serving in schools as a school counselor, she realized the adults need just as much support as the students. So, after obtaining a specialist degree in Education Leadership she accepted a role as the district supervisor of elementary school counseling in Rutherford County Tennessee supporting the school counseling programming for 29 elementary schools. And completed her personal educational journey by completing doctoral programming at Lipscomb University focused on the development of learning organizations, and strategic change.
Her professional experiences also include serving as Chair of the Board of Directors and legislative liaison for the Tennessee School Counselor Association, adjunct professor and frequent speaker at various higher ed events and state conferences, and advisory council for the Tennessee Department of Education school counseling department. She is a Nationally Board Certified Counselor and a certified trainer for Restorative Practices, Building Strong Brains (ACEs/PCEs), The 6 Pillars of Trauma-Informed Schools, and Youth Mental Health First Aid.
Amy has been happily married for 26 years and has two amazing children who have grown and flown. She loves any activity involving sunshine and warm weather. On any given sunny day you can find her at the lake on her paddleboard, or on a bicycle riding the greenway, or hiking with her husband toward one of the many waterfalls found in middle Tennessee.
Creating meaningful connections by understanding how our similarities and differences empower us, and realizing that setting healthy boundaries in relationships promotes mutual respect and understanding, reduces pressure and stress, and increases our confidence and ability to access personal growth.
The cure for isolation and loneliness is learning to value yourself and people around you. Once you know your worth you can assign worth to others which leads to developing the ability to form relationships that heal.
Your voice matters! As a school counselor you can lean into the ASCA National Model and additional resources to become a strong advocate for each and every student at your local school level, the district level, and even the state level.
What do school counselors need to get their programs off the ground – administrators! What do administrators need to fill the gaps for student support – school counselors! The two go hand in hand. Through the strategic use of data to close gaps in student outcomes, collaboration between the school counselor and school administrator yields improved results for student academic achievement, attendance, and social behavior.
If there is one constant in education today, it is “change.” Change is inevitable and we can’t seem to escape it; so how do we lean into it and do more than just survive the onslaught? Here we will lay it all out on the table and openly discuss the crises and conflicts we encounter when change occurs, then we will grapple with some ways to engage with the change and come out the other side thriving in our work as educators.
