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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
Professional school counselors develop confidential
relationships with students to help them resolve or
cope with problems and developmental concerns.
• 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.
Revised, June 2004 |
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