Jesse McCann was terminated from his position as a student support coordinator at AHS on Feb. 11 because he was facing allegations of inappropriate conduct involving students.
Originally hired as a special education teacher, McCann’s role was changed to “student support coordinator” in 2024 after the resignation of Sarah Rose, a former AHS counselor. McCann was placed in the role of “support coordinator,” and a licensed counselor was not hired, according to interviews with AHS Principal Heather McKay.
Although McCann was not technically a counselor, the distinction was at times blurred, with many students, staff, and people in the public perceiving McCann to be acting in the role of a counselor.
The role of support coordinator is intended to be a supplementary role to a counselor, according to McKay. Support coordinators are identified under Iowa Code chapter 272 as “School Service Personnel.” Beyond that, the role is not defined in the code. A support coordinator may help with scheduling, paperwork, evaluating teachers, and career education, according to McKay and the American School Counseling Association (ASCA).
The role of a high school counselor, on the other hand, has clear definitions in Iowa Code chapter 282.13 and evaluation forms found on page 188 of the Iowa Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program Development Guide. Counselors are responsible for addressing social-emotional concerns with students, implementing and creating counseling curricula, and advocating for students’ specific needs.
The line between these roles and their licensing requirements is explained in the Iowa Code and Board of Education Examiners (BOEE) and ASCA publications. A counselor, according to McKay, must have a degree in a counseling-related field. This does not include a general education degree or a special education degree, which were the degrees held by McCann during his ACSD employment.
Furthermore, according to the BOEE, a counselor should also have a Professional Service License (PSL), which can be substituted for a one-year-only “class B” license if they are working towards licensure. McCann, according to BOEE public records, did not hold a class B license, a PSL, or a degree in a counseling field. McKay also confirmed that he was not working towards any new licenses.
Several factors contributed to the confusion about McCann’s role:
- While McCann was not hired as a counselor, he was named in the ACSD Staff Directory as a counselor, which McKay said was a mistake. “It literally was just a clerical error on the staff directory on the webpage,” McKay said.
- McCann’s office was located in the former counselor’s office, which may have contributed to some students’ confusion about his role.
- “E-Hallpasses” made to McCann listed the destination as the “counseling office.”
- McCann’s responsibilities were listed under “Counselor Responsibilities” in the AHS Faculty Handbook.
- In a recent Freedom of Information Act request from Iowa Freedom of Information Council President Randy Evans, Superintendent Beth Johnsen lists allegations concerning McCann, including “Engaged in conduct which directly or indirectly significantly and adversely affects confidence in judgment and fitness to serve as a teacher or guidance counselor.” The use of the term “guidance counselor” in this document from an ACSD official further adds to confusion around McCann’s role. Johnsen explained that the statement was “intentionally written in broader terms so it can address situations where conduct raises concerns about an educator’s professional judgment or fitness to serve, even if the behavior does not fall under a single, specific rule violation.” The wording of the allegations, she said, was guided by the school district’s attorneys.
In recent stories, public media have identified McCann as a counselor. Aiden Fredricksen, a sophomore, is one of many students willing to go on the record to confirm he thought McCann was a school counselor. The student body and public were not explicitly made aware of the differences between a support coordinator and a counselor.
According to Principal McKay, McCann never requested students to come to his office for social-emotional counseling, nor were students referred to his office for that purpose.
When asked if any student would be sent a pass to go to McCann’s office for counseling, McKay responded, “No, not anything like that.”
However, students, believing McCann was a counselor, say they were called into his office for what they perceived to be counseling. Junior Addalyn Sonntag confirmed that she was one of the students who went to McCann for multiple appointments. “I went and talked to McCann about an incident multiple times. For counseling,” Sonntag said.
McKay said that any counseling done by McCann would have happened for a short period of time and then would have been referred to Alyssa Boltz, a qualified AHS counselor, or Melanie Fell, a licensed school psychologist.
McKay said that McCann’s counseling duties were “very similar to a classroom teacher,” explaining that teachers might offer similar short-term guidance to students before referring them to Boltz or Fell for further counseling. Students may confide in a classroom teacher “as long as safety is not an issue,” McKay said.
However, many students thought McCann was, in fact, a counselor. Sophomore Gabrielle Engler confirmed that she went to more than one appointment with McCann that she perceived to be “counseling.”
In the Faculty Handbook provided to AHSneedle by McKay, McCann’s responsibilities were listed under the title “Counseling Responsibilities,” and his first objective is listed as “Counsel students through various areas.”
McCann is also listed in the Faculty Handbook as being responsible for “Counseling Curriculum and Seminar Planning,” “Crisis Intervention,” and “Coordinat[ing] support groups.” These roles are nearly identical to those listed for Boltz.
McCann’s job description aligns with the Iowa Code and ASCA definitions of a counselor, although he is labeled in other ACSD documents as a support coordinator.
According to McKay, McCann was not evaluated on “counseling duties.” McKay said she used parts of the ASCA (American School Counselors Association) and parts of Iowa Teaching Standards evaluation criteria to professionally assess McCann. Although McCann’s job duties include counseling, crisis intervention, and counseling curriculum, McKay confirmed she did not use the counseling-specific evaluation questions for him.
There is currently a BOEE and Atlantic Police Department investigation into an AHS employee, though that investigation has not been formally linked to McCann.
