Stephen Watts is one of two school counselors at Citronelle High School in north Mobile County. Earlier this month, Watts was awarded “Secondary School Counselor of the Year” by the Alabama School Counselor Association.

Watts was recognized for his data-driven approach to counseling that was shown to narrow the achievement gap for students, according to Mobile County Public School System spokesperson Rena Philips. Prior to his time at Citronelle, Watts worked as a middle school counselor in Mobile and taught high school reading and English.