Tara Lebar Email & Phone Number

Olathe, Ks, Us

Olathe, Ks, Us

United States

• Led ACT and PSAT test prep courses for students in grades 9-12, guiding them through the college admission process.• Provided personalized essay writing guidance, application support, and college selection ideas to help students achieve their academic goals.

Lees Summit, Missouri, United States

Facilitated problem solving services in academics, college/career planning and social emotional areas to 350 students in grades 9-12.● Utilized PowerSchool, Schoology, Edgenuity, Panorama and other technology tools to advise students and their families in course selection, graduation requirements, academic support credit recovery and at-risk identification.● Team Lead on creation of a Financial Aid assistance night utilizing the assistance of Financial Aid representatives from area higher education institutions.● Joined the department mid-year, learning new district and state requirements while building relationships with key stakeholders as quickly as possible.

Olathe, Kansas, United States

Lead programming, directed projects, and provided support for systemwide initiatives to strengthen the transition of students from secondary to post-secondary education in a fully remote working environment.● Liaison with Kansas State Department of Education and created professional development programming for post-secondary resources, Market Value Assets (MVA) and Real-World Learning (RWL) tools for Kansas high school counselors.● State Director for the Apply Kansas Application campaign designed to help more high school students complete a post-secondary application in the fall of their senior year. Using a data driven approach, the program has had a 93% growth in site participation, 101% increase in student participation and a 139% increase in application submission with approximately 90% of sites returning each year.● Initiated and implemented the first annual Kansas Apply Free Days in fall 2023. Working in coordination with the Kansas Board of Regents and University Admission directors, this program allows Kansas residents to apply to Kansas Higher Education institutions for free. In 2023, institutions had an 18% increase in applications, with the largest gains in first generation and Hispanic applicants.● Staff liaison to the Kansas Open Education Resources (OER) Steering Committee, advocating for adoption of OER materials to increase education access and reduce costs for students. Assisted the team in submitting a $200,000 legislative budget request to create a statewide OER grant program.● Developed and facilitated presentations/webinars for groups from 20-400+.

Overland Park, Kansas, United States

Member of the Building Leadership team and coordinated the work of the five-member counseling team. Facilitated problem solving services in academics, college/career planning and social emotional areas to 350+ students in grades 9-12.● Managed the concurrent credit program annually for hundreds of students with two partner institutions, Johnson County Community College and Baker University.● Implemented the Naviance College & Career software program as a pilot program and then served as subject matter expert with the district rollout.● Co-authored and delivered professional learning sessions about racial inequity issues in education for 90+ faculty members.● Created counseling curriculum and video lessons for grades 9-12 using the Canvas online learning tool.● Represented counseling peers regionally and nationally through elected leadership positions in GPACAC and NACAC organizations.

Arlington, Virginia, United States

•A volunteer, elected, leadership position to represent the regional affiliate presidents on the NACAC board of directors.•Planned and lead the two, annual leadership training events for the regional affiliate president classes.•Organized, managed and trained the presidential classes, ensuring they had the support they needed from the national organization to lead their affiliate members effectively.

Grandview, Missouri, United States

•Advised students and parents with regards to educational planning, scheduling, and other academic needs.•Provided individual and group counseling services to meet the changing emotional needs of the student population.•Coordinated meetings between parents and teachers to provide interventions for individual students.•Delivered 9-12 large group guidance lessons on topics including, high school planning, the career pathways, resume writing, and, collegiate planning and testing.

Bachelor Of Music Education, Music Teacher Education

Master Of Science - Ms, Counselor Education/School Counseling And Guidance Services