What do school counselors do?
- School counselors help all students achieve academic, career, and personal/social success by running school wide programs and working with students in classrooms, small groups, or individually
- They work closely with teachers, school administrators, school psychologists, parents, nurses, and community agencies to meet students’ needs
To address academic and career goals, school counselors:
- Coordinate activities that allow students to systematically plan their learning and development
- Use assessments and interviews to help students define their interests and identify their abilities and skills
- Provide students with information about post-secondary plans like careers, colleges, and financial aid
- These activities are performed less often in elementary schools, where there is a larger focus on assessing students’ strengths, problems, study habits, and developmental needs
To address personal/social goals, school counselors help students deal with various problems like:
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Sexuality
- Family problems
- Self-esteem
- Mental health issues
- Bullying
The Transformed Role of School Counselors
ASCA and the Education Trust have called for a shift in the role of the professional school counselor from that of service provider to one of promoting optimal achievement for all students.
Traditional Practice (Service Driven Model)
Transformed Practice (Systemic and Programmatic Model)
Dahir, C. A., & Stone, C. (2011 ). The Transformed School Counselor . Belmont, CA : Cengage Learning.
Traditional Practice (Service Driven Model)
- Counseling
- Coordination
- Consultation
Transformed Practice (Systemic and Programmatic Model)
- Counseling
- Coordination of services
- Consultation
- Leadership
- Social justice advocate
- Collaboration and teaming
- Managing resources
- Use of data
- Technology
- Systemic change agent
Dahir, C. A., & Stone, C. (2011 ). The Transformed School Counselor . Belmont, CA : Cengage Learning.