- Damien Sweeney has worked alongside school counselors to equip them with best practices that will help them with their jobs.
- Sweeney said that he finds the most rewarding aspect of his job to be helping Kentucky’s schools become a safer learning environment.
By Jacob Perkins
Jacob.perkins@education.ky.gov
Damien Sweeney, program coordinator for comprehensive school counseling in the Office of Teaching and Learning, has been with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for about a year and a half.
During this time, Sweeney has worked alongside school counselors to equip them with best practices that will help them with their jobs.
“I try to create simple resources and materials that will meet the needs of school personnel and students,” he said. “I try to keep social and emotional health and trauma at the forefront with how we educate Kentucky’s students and take care of the adults who work with them.”
Sweeney said that he finds the most rewarding aspect of his job to be helping Kentucky’s schools become a safer learning environment.
“I’ve always seen myself as a change agent and social justice is constantly on my radar,” he said. “It is extremely rewarding when I can knock down barriers for students and educators and find ways to create a better, safer educational environment for them.”
Before joining KDE, Sweeney was a special education teacher at Fairdale High School (Jefferson County), English teacher at Louisville Male High School and a school counselor at Seneca High School (Jefferson County).
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Transylvania University and his master’s in teaching from Bellarmine University. He went on to earn his master’s in education for school counseling from the University of Louisville, along with his doctorate in educational leadership.
While working for KDE, Sweeney is also an adjunct professor at the University of the Cumberlands and Spalding University.
He is a father of three boys, all 4 years old and under. He commutes to KDE headquarters in Frankfort from his home in Louisville. On his drives, he enjoys listening to podcasts.
Sweeney played soccer while at Transylvania and then again in Ireland for a month. He has coached the sport at the high school, club and college level.
To keep up with Sweeney and his work, give him a follow on Twitter @DamienSweeney33.
MORE INFO …
Counselor Connections with Mixtapes
ILP Playbooks
Graduation Requirement webpage
Early Graduation
Performance-Based Learning
Elementary Bullying Prevention video
Elementary Resilience video
Download the slide decks for both videos, also contains resources for educators at the end.
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