These 30 Tennessee schools are getting new college counselors, courtesy of the governor’s office

Students at Overton High School in Memphis are in luck this year: One guidance counselor will focus just on helping them navigate the tricky path to college.

The school is one of 30 across Tennessee getting a college counselor through a $2.5 million initiative called Advise TN, Gov. Bill Haslam’s office announced Monday. The initiative pays for a counselor dedicated to the college process — a luxury at schools where guidance counselors juggle social work, scheduling, and test administration.

More than 100 schools applied for the extra funds after Haslam announced the program this spring. Only schools with a college-going rate lower than the state’s average, about 60 percent, were eligible.

Though 30 eligible schools were in Memphis, Overton is the only area school getting the extra help. According to one metric, how well students do on the ACT exam, just 2 percent of Overton seniors were college-ready last year

The extra resources are temporary. This year, the state set aside about $82,000 per school for the program, which could fund up to two years of the extra position.  After that money is spent, the partner schools are expected to come up with their own funds to keep the extra counselors. Tennessee currently gives schools money for one counselor per 350 high school students — 100 students more than the American School Counselor Association recommends.

Here’s the full list of schools getting the extra funds: