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The Role of the Professional School Counselor

The professional school counselor is a certified/licensed educator trained in school counseling with unique qualifications and skills to address all students’ academic, personal/social and career development needs. Professional school counselors implement a comprehensive school counseling program that promotes and enhances student achievement. Professional school counselors are employed in elementary, middle/junior high and high schools and in district supervisory, counselor education and post-secondary settings. Their work is differentiated by attention to developmental stages of student growth, including the needs, tasks and student interests related to those stages.

Professional school counselors serve a vital role in maximizing student achievement. Incorporating leadership, advocacy and collaboration, professional school counselors promote equity and access to opportunities and rigorous educational experiences for all students. Professional school counselors support a safe learning environment and work to safeguard the human rights of all members of the school community. Collaborating with other stakeholders to promote student achievement, professional school counselors address the needs of all students through prevention and intervention programs that are a part of a comprehensive school counseling program. To achieve maximum program effectiveness, the American School Counselor Association recommends a counselor-to-student ratio of 1:250.

Professional school counselors have a master’s degree or higher in school counseling or the substantial equivalent, meet the state certification/licensure standards and abide by the laws of the states in which they are employed. They uphold the ethical and professional standards of professional counseling associations and promote the development of the school counseling program based on the following areas of the ASCA National Model: foundation, delivery, management and accountability.

Foundation
Professional school counselors identify personal beliefs and philosophies as to how all students benefit from the school counseling program and act on these beliefs and philosophies to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive school counseling program. Professional school counselors create a mission statement supporting the school’s mission and collaborate with other individuals and organizations to promote all students’ academic, career and personal/social development.
Delivery
Professional school counselors provide services to students, parents, school staff and the community in the
following areas:
School Guidance Curriculum — This curriculum consists of structured lessons designed to help students achieve
the desired competencies and to provide all students with the knowledge and skills appropriate for their
developmental level. The school guidance curriculum is delivered throughout the school’s overall curriculum and
is systematically presented by professional school counselors in collaboration with other professional educators
in K-12 classroom and group activities.
Individual Student Planning — Professional school counselors coordinate ongoing systemic activities designed
to help students establish personal goals and develop future plans.
Responsive Services — Responsive services are preventative and/or interventive activities meeting students’
immediate and future needs. These needs can be necessitated by events and conditions in students’ lives and
may require any of the following:
o individual or group counseling
o consultation with parents, teachers and other educators
o referrals to other school support services or community resources
o peer helping
o information
System Support – System support consists of management activities establishing, maintaining and enhancing the total school counseling program. These activities include professional development, consultation, collaboration, program management and operations. Professional school counselors are committed to continual personal and professional development and are proactively involved in professional organizations promoting school counseling at the local, state and national levels. Management Professional school counselors incorporate organizational processes and tools that are concrete, clearly delineated and reflective of the school’s needs. Tools and processes include:

• Agreements developed with and approved by administrators at the beginning of the school year addressing how the school counseling program is organized and what goals will be accomplished

• Advisory councils made up of students, parents, teachers, counselors administrators and community members to review school counseling program results and to make recommendations

• Use of student data to affect systemic change within the school system so every student receives the benefit of the school counseling program

• Action plans for prevention and intervention services defining the desired student competencies and achievement results

• Allotment of 80 percent of the professional school counselor's time in direct service with students

• Use of master and weekly calendars to keep students, parents, teachers and administrators informed and to encourage active participation in the school counseling program

Accountability: To demonstrate the effectiveness of the school counseling program in measurable terms, professional school counselors report on immediate, intermediate and long-range results showing how students are different as a result of the school counseling program. Professional school counselors use data to show the impact of the school counseling program on school improvement and student achievement. Professional school counselors conduct school counseling program audits to guide future action and improve future results for all students. The performance of the professional school counselor is evaluated on basic standards of practice expected of professional school counselors implementing a school counseling program.

Summary Professional school counselors are certified/licensed professionals with a masters’ degree or higher in school counseling or the substantial equivalent and are uniquely qualified to address the developmental needs of all students. Professional school counselors deliver a comprehensive school counseling program encouraging all students ’ academic, career and personal/social development and helping all students in maximizing student achievement.

Why Secondary School Counselors?

“Today’s young people are living in an exciting time, with an increasingly diverse and mobile society, new technologies, and expanding opportunities. To help ensure that they are prepared to become the next generation of parents, workers, leaders, and citizens,” every student needs support, guidance, and opportunities during adolescence, a time of rapid growth and change. Adolescents face unique and diverse challenges, both personally and developmentally, that impact academic achievement.

Secondary School Students ’ Developmental Needs

High school is the final transition into adulthood and the world of work as students begin separating from parents and exploring and defining their independence. Students are deciding who they are, what they do well, and what they will do when they graduate. During these adolescent years, students are evaluating their strengths, skills and abilities. The biggest influence is their peer group. They are searching for a place to belong and rely on peer acceptance and feedback. They face increased pressures regarding risk behaviors involving sex, alcohol and drugs while exploring the boundaries of more acceptable behavior and mature, meaningful relationships. They need guidance in making concrete and compounded decisions. They must deal with academic pressures as they face high-stakes testing, the challenges of college admissions, the scholarship and financial aid application process and entrance into a competitive job market.

Meeting the Challenge

Secondary school counselors are professional educators with a mental health perspective who understand and respond to the challenges presented by today’s diverse student population. Secondary school counselors do not work in isolation; rather they are integral to the total educational program. They provide proactive leadership that engages all stakeholders in the delivery of programs and services to help the student achieve success in school. Professional school counselors align and work with the school’s mission to support the academic achievement of all students as they prepare for the ever-changing world of the 21st century.

This mission is accomplished through the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive, developmental and systematic school-counseling program. The ASCA National Standards in the academic, career, and personal/social domains are the foundation for this work.

The ASCA National Model:

A Framework For School Counseling Programs (2), with it ’ s data-driven and results-based focus serves as a guide for today ’ s school counselor who is uniquely trained to implement this program. Secondary School Counselors Implement the Counseling Program by Providing:

1. Classroom Guidance

2. Academic skills support

3. Organizational, study and test-taking skills

4. Post-secondary planning and application process

5. Career planning

6. Education in understanding self and others

7. Coping strategies

8. Peer relationships and effective social skills

9. Communication, problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution and study skills

10. Career awareness and the world of work

11. Substance abuse education

12. Multicultural/diversity awareness

· Parents Academic planning/support

· Post-secondary planning

· Scholarship/financial search process

· School-to-parent communications

· School-to-work transition programs

· One-on-one parent conferencing

· Referral process

· Students Academic support services

· Program planning

· Peer education program

· Peer mediation program

· Crisis management

· Transition programs

· Teachers Portfolio development, providing recommendations and assisting students with the post-secondary application process

· Classroom guidance lessons on post-secondary planning, study skills, career development, etc.

· School-to-work transition programs

· Academic support, learning style assessment and education to help students succeed academically

· Classroom speakers

· At-risk student identification and implementation of interventions to enhance success

· Administrators School climate

· Academic support interventions

· Behavioral management plans

· School-wide needs assessments

· Data sharing

· Student assistance team development

· Community Job shadowing, worked-based learning, part-time jobs, etc.

· Crisis interventions

· Referrals

· Career education

High school years are full of growth, promise, excitement, frustration, disappointment and hope. It is the time when students begin to discover what the future holds for them. Secondary school counselors enhance the learning process and promote academic achievement. School counseling programs are essential for students to achieve optimal personal growth, acquire positive social skills and values, set appropriate career goals and realize full academic potential to become productive, contributing members of the world community. The professional high school counselor holds a master’s degree and required state certification in school counseling. Maintaining certification includes on-going professional development to stay current with educational reform and challenges facing today’s students. Professional association membership is encouraged as it enhances the school counselor’s knowledge and effectiveness.