Photo by Bill Reynolds/La Conner Community News
It was destined that La Conner Elementary School’s new counselor would take the long way to town.
Ohio native Abbey Harrison, whose academic and teaching careers brought her to the United Kingdom, was named for a famous global landmark 5,000 miles from here.
“My parents told me that I was named for a road,” she explains.
But not just any road.
They chose the name Abbey for London’s Abbey Road, where the Beatles’ recording studios were located and which inspired the band’s most iconic album cover.
The well-traveled Harrison, daughter of two career educators, is ideally suited to provide direction beyond geography for La Conner students.
She recalls loving school while growing up outside Columbus, Ohio.
“I always looked forward to the start of school,” she said. “To me, it was better than Christmas.”
After her high school graduation, Harrison enrolled at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, northeast of Canton. The travel bug eventually led her to the University of Brighton, on the southern coast of England. In addition to education, her focus at Brighton was on drama and theater arts.
After finishing at Brighton, Harrison remained in the United Kingdom, teaching for seven years—four at the primary level and three as a secondary instructor. That experience planted the seeds for Harrison’s pursuit of a master’s degree and entry into school counseling.
“When I first started teaching, I saw the challenges that the students faced,” Harrison said. “I needed to learn what was keeping them from realizing their potential. I wanted to peel back the layers and get at the root of it.”
She returned to the U.S. and completed a hybrid graduate program in counseling through Liberty University. She settled in the Skagit Valley 13 years ago, serving an internship with the Mount Vernon School District before hiring on at Concrete.
Harrison enjoyed her position on the Concrete campus, but the daily commute upriver from Mount Vernon, where her three sons are students, could be taxing. An opening in the La Conner Schools counseling department this spring was an opportunity she couldn’t pass on.
“It had been a dream of mine to work at La Conner. It’s a small district and community and there’s something special about that. I love the richness and culture here,” Harrison said.
One of Harrison’s missions at La Conner will be to build a comprehensive, holistic counseling plan that emphasizes proactive rather than reactive approaches to promoting student growth. In that vein, she will be involved in the district’s new Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) initiative.
MTSS is an evidenced-based framework for developing learning environments and equitable access to instruction geared toward enhancing student achievement.
“It’s all about doing what’s best for kids,” stresses Harrison, who has created a cozy, welcoming office space adjoining the elementary school’s commons area.
“One of the goals for our students is to become leaders in their community someday,” Harrison said.
One week into the school year, Harrison is already having an impact.
“She’s very well versed,” La Conner Elementary Principal Marcus Knowles says of Harrison. “She’s always ready and willing to step up and help with students and staff, and she’s already making important connections with families.”
Knowles said Harrison is pitching in right away to help with the clothing closet project sponsored by local service organizations.
For her part, Harrison has found in La Conner the optimal destination after having followed what the Beatles would dub a “long and winding road.”
“I’m amazed by the team here,” she insists. “There’s a great positivity, energy, and commitment to do what’s best for kids.”
Harrison’s predecessor, longtime social worker Maureen Brennan, is no longer with the district.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter who covers Town government, schools, and spot news.
