School Counseling at North Whidbey 

When you need to talk to someone, your school counselor is a great place to start! 

Your NWMS Counselors are here to help you with academic achievement, personal/social development, and career exploration. School counselors work with teachers, principals, and other school staff to help you become successful, responsible students. Counselors also partner with parents and the community to help student needs to be met. You will have the same school counselor for both years you are at NWMS.

We are available to listen and help problem solve, as well as to provide encouragement and support. Come visit us during lunch, or ask your teacher if you may come see us during class with a pass. We also have counselor visit requests on our doors; when you return one of these, we will schedule a time to meet with you. 

How can your school counselor help you? 

• academic support and scheduling
• organizational, study, and test-taking skills
• understanding yourself and others
• regulating emotions
• building coping strategies 
• friendships, relationships, and social skills
• communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict resolution
• career awareness, exploration, and planning
• substance abuse education
• multicultural and diversity awareness
• deployment and military family support
• grief and loss
• violence prevention
• anxiety, stress, anger, depression 
• referrals to other services

Meet Our NWMS Counselors! 

Jenny Butler - 7th Grade  (Class of 2025) 

Ms. Butler graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in international relations. She taught conversational English in Japan for two years and toured Asia.  After working for several businesses, Ms. Butler decided to make a career change. She earned a master's in school counseling from Seattle Pacific University. Ms. Butler enjoys working with middle school students and says they have an energy and perspective on life that is refreshing. In her free time, she enjoys mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, fishing and swimming.     

Jennifer DePrey - 8th Grade (Class of 2024)

Ms. DePrey has a Master's degree in counseling from Seattle University and a bachelor's degree in Human Services from Western Washington University. She loves working with middle school students, to help them find their passions, learn about themselves and the world around them, build good academic habits, and grow into life-long learners. Before coming to North Whidbey Middle School, Ms. DePrey worked with high school students in Oak Harbor. Outside of school, Ms. DePrey loves to read, travel, spend time with her friends and family, and listen to or make music.