mopdf.com

Leadership, Advocacy, Collaboration and SystemicChangeSchool counselors are influential in helping students eventually reach their postsecondary, career, andpersonal/social goals. In addition to our roles in counseling and coordination, school counselors areleaders, advocates, and collaborators. As leaders, we engage in school-wide change to ensure studentsuccess. School counselors promote academic achievement by developing a comprehensivedevelopmental school counseling program that pays attention to issues of educational equity and access.As advocates, we advocate for all students to achieve at a high level. School counselors remove barriersto academic achievement by teaching skills to students, and helping students and parents negotiate theschool environment and access support systems. School counselors collaborate with teachers,administrators, staff, students, parents, and community members to impact system-wide changes. Mostimportantly, school counselors demonstrate that we are willing to share responsibility and accountabilityfor student achievement and school improvement. In all of these roles, school counselors use local,regional, and national data to support their programs.Most school counselors agree that our skills, time, and energy should be focused on balancing direct andindirect services to students. School counseling programs and the primary methods of delivery aredetermined by the extent of the academic, career, and personal-social developmental needs of students.The counselor is in a key position to identify the issues that impact on student learning and achievementby becoming involved at the core of school planning, developing programs, and impacting the climate.We use a collaborative model as a springboard for success. Counselors do not work alone; all educatorsplay a role in creating an environment, which promotes the achievement of identified student goals andoutcomes. The counselor facilitates communication and establishes linkages for the benefit of students,with teaching staff, administration, families, other Student Services personnel, agencies, businesses, andother members of the community. Student success in school depends upon the cooperation and supportof the entire faculty, staff, and Student Services personnel.Knowledge and skills that students acquire in the areas of academic, career and personal-socialdevelopment must surpass what are perceived to be predominantly “counseling related” servicesactivities. Program delivery consists of the many ways that professional school counselors provideservices to students including individual and group counseling, large and small group guidance,consultation, management of resources, and through the coordination of services. The school counselorutilizes a variety of strategies, activities, delivery methods, and resources to facilitate student growth anddevelopment. In order to accomplish this, the school counselor must possess a solid knowledge of whathe/she needs to know and be able to do to serve as a student advocate, provide direct and indirect services,and ascribe to the belief that all students can learn and achieve.Page 8

What are the roles of faculty, school counselors, administrators and others?In a school with a comprehensive school counseling program, administration, faculty, and staffunderstand and support the program. In addition, all teachers, administrators and staff assist in programdelivery to ensure every student receives the services he or she needs. These roles are defined accordingto the New York State Comprehensive School Counseling Program as follows:Counselor’s RoleProvide proactive leadership to ensure every student is served. Theymanage the comprehensive program and coordinate strategies andactivities with others (e.g., teachers, parents, community agencies,business representatives) to meet the program goals andstandards/competencies.Teacher’s RoleAre partners with school counselors. They develop and infuse schoolcounseling activities into the instructional program that are integral togood learning. They may serve as advisors, mentors and in a number ofother roles.Administrator’s RoleProvide leadership in developing the program and in the ongoing programimprovement. Administrators provide continuous support and emphasizethe importance of the program to others. They promote cooperationbetween counselors, faculty and others. They also provide facilities,resources and allow time to facilitate the program process.Parents’ RoleWork cooperatively with school personnel in delivering the program.They serve on committees and provide linkages to the community bycommunicating program goals to others.Students’ RoleActively participate and assume responsibility for meeting standards/developing competencies. They will be able to identify the skills,knowledge and attitudes they have gained in structured guidance sessions.Business/CommunityRepresentatives’ RolesRepresentatives from Business and Industry and others in the communityserve on committees, talk with classes, act as mentors, provide financialsupport and generally serve as partners in the education of youth.Modified with permission from Delaware State Education DepartmentPage 9

Benefits of Comprehensive School Counseling ProgramsComprehensive developmental school counseling programs positively impact students,parents/guardians, teachers, the community, boards of education, administrators and school counselors.The benefits to each of these groups include the following:Benefits for StudentsU Focuses on all studentsEnhances students’ academic performanceCenters on students’ needsSeeks students’ inputEncourages more interaction among studentsProvides a developmental and preventative focusPromotes knowledge and assistance in career exploration and developmentEnhances life coping skillsHelps students feel connected to schoolEnhances students’ personal/social developmentDevelops decision-making skillsIncreases knowledge of self and othersBroadens knowledge of our changing work worldIncreases opportunities for school counselor-student interactionDevelops a system of long-range planning for studentsBenefits for Parents/GuardiansU Enhances students’ academic performance, and their career and personal/social developmentEncourages the input of parents/guardiansEncourages outreach to all parents/guardiansProvides support for parents/guardians regarding each child’s educational developmentIncreases opportunities for parent/guardian school counselor interactionProvides parents/guardians information about available resourcesAssures parents/guardians that all children will receive support from the guidance and counselingprogramBenefits for TeachersU Contributes to a team effort to enhance students’ academic performance as well as their careerand personal/social developmentProvides relevant curriculum ideas though the use of guidance and counseling grade levelexpectationsEncourages teachers’ input into the delivery of the comprehensive guidance and counselingprogramEstablishes the school counselor as a resource/consultantEncourages positive, collaborative working relationshipsDefines the role of school counselors as educatorsPage 10

Benefits for the CommunityU Encourages input from business, industry, labor, and other community partners includingcommunity mental health and social service agenciesProvides increased opportunities for collaboration among school counselors and business,industry, labor, and other community partners including community mental health and socialservice agenciesEnhances the role of the school counselor as a resource personIncreases opportunities for business, industry, labor, and other community partners includingcommunity mental health and social service agencies to actively participate in the total schoolprogramEnhances students’ academic performance as well as their career and personal/socialdevelopmentSupplies a future workforce that has decision-making skills, pre-employment skills, andincreased worker maturityFacilitates the development of students as active responsible citizensBenefits for the Board of EducationU Enhances students’ academic performance as well as their career and personal/socialdevelopmentEncourages greater school/community interactionProvides a rationale for including a comprehensive guidance and counseling program in a schoolsystemProvides program information to district patronsProvides a basis for determining funding allocations for the programProvides ongoing evaluation data concerning the full implementation of the program, the workof school counselors within the program, and the attainment of relevant guidance and counselingstudent outcomesBenefits for AdministratorsU Enhances students’ academic performance as well as their career and personal/socialdevelopmentProvides a clearly defined organizational structure for the comprehensive guidance andcounseling programEstablishes a clearly defined job description for school counselorsProvides a way to supervise and evaluate school counselorsEncourages administrative input and involvement in the implementation and evaluation of thecomprehensive guidance and counseling programProvides a means of accountability through comprehensive guidance and counseling program,personnel and results evaluationsEnhances the image of the comprehensive guidance and counseling program in the schoolcommunityPromotes the work of school counselors as providers of direct services to students and parents aswell as being a consultant and collaborator with teachers and administratorsPage 11

Benefits for School CounselorsU Enhances students’ academic performance as well as their career and personal/socialdevelopmentPlaces guidance and counseling in the mainstream of the total educational systemProvides clearly defined organizational structure in which to workReduces and strives to eliminate non-guidance and counseling activities while retaining fairshare responsibilitiesOffers the opportunity to reach all studentsProvides a systemic way to plan, design, implement, evaluate and enhance the District’scomprehensive guidance and counseling programOutlines clearly defined responsibilities for helping students master guidance and counselingcontent, develop personal plans of student and assisting students needing help with theirindividual concernsAdapted from the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Program, Missouri State Department of Education.Page 12

The School CounselorThe school counselor is a certified professional educator who assists students, teachers, parents andadministrators. Three generally recognized helping processes used by the counselor are counseling,consulting and coordination. Additionally, the skills of advocacy, leadership, collaboration and teamingare utilized to ensure the success of all students. Counseling is a complex helping process in which the counselor establishes a trusting andconfidential working relationship. The focus is on problem-solving, decision-making anddiscovering personal meaning related to learning and development. Consultation is a cooperative process in which the counselor-consultant assists others to thinkthrough problems and to develop skills that make them more effective in working withstudents. Coordination is a leadership process in which the counselor helps organize and manage aschool’s counseling program and related services. Advocacy is a process in which the counselor advocates for students’ educational needs andworks to ensure these needs are addressed at each level of a child’s school experience. Leadership is practiced by counselors when they are engaged in system wide change as neededto ensure student success. Collaboration and teaming is used by counselors to work with all stakeholders, both inside andoutside of the school system, to create programs that support the academic achievement of allstudents. Data is utilized by counselors to measure the results of the program as well as to promotesystemic change within the school system so every student graduates college- andcareer-ready.Adopted by: American School Counselors Association Governing Board, December2003Resource: Dahir, C. A., & Stone, C. B. (2007). School Counseling at the Crossroads of Change(ACAPCD-05). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.Page 13

GUIDANCE COUNSELORS OR SCHOOL COUNSELORS:HOW THE NAME OF THE PROFESSION INFLUENCES PERCEPTIONS OF COMPETENCE'W" FOUNDATION OFWHAT CANWE LEARN ?THE RESEARCHIN 1990, ASCA issued anP art i c i pant s who completed the surveys that used the term "guidanceDAdvocate tocounselor. were statistically sig nificantly less likely to believeensure the useofficial statement calling on theprofession to change the title to"schoolcounselor'' rather thanthe previous title of "guidanceindividuals with that job title were able to perform the 25 tasks on thesurvey. Theresults of this study show the following:of the title"schoolcounselor."THE TITLE MATTERS:by all educationalstakeholders.WHY THE TITLE CHANGE?The titl.e ,g. uid ance counselor" nolonger encompassed the broadscope of work that was donebythe professionals in the school.RESEARCH PROCEDUREResearchers sought todetermine if there weresignificant differences ona measure of perceivedcompetence of schoolcounselors based on job title.About hal f the participantscompleted a version of aresearch survey that used theterm "guidancecounselor" andhalf completed a version of aresearch survey that used theterm "school counselor."Schoo§ACOUNSELOR Using "guidance counselor"versus "school counselor · hasan impact on the perceivedcompetence of schoolcounselors. School counselors who receivedthe survey using the term"guidancecounselo"r werestatistically significa ntly morelikely to assign lower scores onthe survey than their peers whoreceived the version with theterm school counselor." Schoo l counse lor s who saw thedescribed within the ASCASchool Counselor ProfessionalStandards &Competencies andCACREP standard s. School counselors withwere equally affected by thesurvey terminolog y. The yearsof experience of the schoolcounselor did not affect theperceptionsof competence.receive data-informedcomprehensiveschool counselingBecause titles are used todescribe the nature of the workof the profession. when theco un selor" andprogramming.standards and comp ete ncies"school counselor" are usedinterchangeably,when in factthey are not interchangeable.thisschool counselorswere able tonature of the work completed byinformed compre hen sive schoolWhen school coun selorsuse "guidance counselor" todescribe the work they do. itsignificantly influencestheir ownperception of the competenceof members of their professionin a negative way.term .g. uidance counselor" usedto describe school counselors'wereless likely to believeresults in confusion around theperform the tasks of a dat a school counselors.counseling p rogram. Schoof counselors perceivedthat guidancecounselors areless comp etent to completethe job roles and tasksR useyour titleasliila form of socialcapital to advancethe recognition andlegitimacy of thep rofession and toensure all studentsevery level of experienceterms; ' gu id ancecounselor" in allareas of your workll!IWAdop t the titleU '· school counselor"on all com municationmedia. includingbusiness cards, doorplaques,and digitalcommunication suchas e ma il sig na tur e s,social media andwebsites., IIII IIOOO,\M.6RICA N' SCHOOLCOUNSELOR,\ S S O C I AT IO NThis stud y used a sampl,e of 276 school counselors who were recruited for participation at-a 2018 state counseling association conference in Ohio.

SOURCE: "Guidance Counselors or School Counsolors: How the Name of the ProfessionInfluencesPerceptions of Competence" (Professional SchoolCounseling. Vol. 2,2 Issue 1). Authors: Brett Zyromski, Ph.0,, Tyler 0. Hudson. M.A Emily Baker, MA. and Darcy Haag Granello. Pl).0. The Ohio StateUniversity,This stud y used a sampl,e of 276 school counselors who were recruited for participation at-a 2018 state counseling association conference in Ohio.

The New Vision for SchoolCounselors: Scope of the WorkLEADERSHIPADVOCACYTEAM ANDCOLLABORATIONCOUNSELING ANDCOORDINATIONASSESSMENT ANDUSE OF DATAPromote, plan, andimplement preventionprograms; careerand collegereadiness activities;course selection andplacement activities;social and personalmanagementactivities; anddecision‐makingactivities.Make dataavailable to helpthe whole schoollook at studentoutcomes.Work with problemsolving teams to ensureresponsiveness to equityand cultural diversityissues as well as learningstyles.Hold brief counselingsessions withindividual students,groups, and families.Assess and interpretstudent needs,recognizing differencesin culture, languages,values, andbackgrounds.Provide data onstudent outcomes,showingachievement gaps,and provideleadership forschools to view datathrough an equitylens.Use data to affectchange, calling onresources fromschool andcommunity.Collaborate with otherhelping agents (peerhelpers, teachers,principals, communityagencies, businesses).Coordinate schooland communityresources forstudents, families,and staff to improvestudent

The National Standards for School Counseling Programs form the basis for the school counseling comprehensive plan. The School Counseling program is articulated throughout the grade levels. Individual and group counseling opportunities are provided. Appropriate counseling, consulting and referral activities are provided.