Danielle Crankfield is one of the six school counselors at Crofton High School, providing counseling for students with last names from Stb to Z. She has been counseling for 16 years, starting in 2010. As of November 17th 2025, she is the 2026 National School Counselor of the Year, a significant and well-deserved achievement.
According to ASCA (American School Counselor Association), the National School Counselor of the Year award was first introduced in 2008. While other recognition awards existed beforehand, 2008 was the official year that one counselor from across the country was recognized for their great work. Past winners include 2025 winner Camden Larson (Sarasota Middle School, Florida), 2024 winner Diana Virgil (Daleville High School, Alabama), and 2023 winner Meredith Draughn (B. Everett Jordan Elementary, North Carolina).
In a recent interview, Crankfield answered some questions about her job and how she felt upon winning the award:
How did you feel when you learned you had won?
“I was shocked. I had convinced myself that another counselor had gotten it, so it wasn’t even on my radar.” Crankfield was in her office when Mr. Ryan called for her to go to the library, doing her job as usual. She also described how it felt when she went to receive the award and the surrealness of it all.
What words would you use to describe yourself as a counselor?
Crankfield described herself as compassionate, data driven and fun. She explained how she tries to be a fun person because, “if you can’t do anything else…you just need to laugh”, a sentiment many can agree with.
What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job?
Crankfield couldn’t choose a specific moment, since there are so many small moments that she finds greatly rewarding. Specifically she spoke about when a student tells her, “I got into a college..I passed this class that was really hard for me…I got better control of my mental health.”
What inspired you to go into counseling?
“When I was in high school, I had a really great school counselor,” Crankfield said when recounting her experience in high school. She also mentioned her friends who weren’t having a good experience as a part of her inspiration. Due to her experience, she “always wanted to be the counselor for my students that my school counselor in high school was for me.”
In her 16 years as a counselor, Crankfield has worked to guide students and help them achieve their goals. When Bailey Tozer – one of Crankfield’s students – was interviewed, she described Crankfield as “easy to talk to…fun…good at connecting with her students.” She also depicted a time when she needed help with one of her classes, and Crankfield responded quickly and efficiently to fix the issue.
You can tell that Crankfield cares for her students and her students can see that care reflected through their interactions. Crankfield is a hard-working, supportive, and helpful counselor to any student she can help and her achievement as National Counselor of the Year will not be quickly forgotten.
