The Role of the School Counselor

The Role of the School Counselor

“School counselors assist all students in academic achievement, career development, and social/emotional development, as well as ensuring today’s students become productive, well-adjusted adults of tomorrow” (ASCA, 2019, p. 1). School counselors assist students in processing their problems and planning goals and actions; they listen to students’ concerns about academic, emotional, or social problems; they mediate conflict between students and teachers; they improve parent/teacher relationships, they work on academic boards to improve learning conditions, and they assist students with college applications, jobs, and scholarships (All Psychology Schools, 2019).

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Making simple efforts to make students aware of what the future holds is critical regarding career and college planning. Making students aware entails assisting them in connecting what they learn in school to real-world situations, discovering the variety of jobs available to them, beginning to see themselves in an occupation, and developing work-readiness skills such as working in teams, making decisions, problem-solving, and learning to be a leader. Students, for example, can be made aware of careers through posters, announcements, classroom lessons, or by asking teachers to include career awareness in their lessons regularly.

Data collection and analysis assist school counselors and administrators in understanding educational issues and evaluating programs to ensure they make a difference for all students (ASCA, 2019). School counselors must use data collected from students to ensure that they are adding value to their school’s learning environment and implementing a program that is regarded as a valuable resource. School counselors primarily use data to assess and evaluate programs, monitor student progress, identify school counseling program goals, and demonstrate the effectiveness of school counseling programs.

Assessments of Needs

A needs assessment is a survey that students, parents, teachers, and administrators complete providing data-informed guidance for a comprehensive school counseling program (Grimsley, 2019). Student needs assessments to assist school counselors in determining how many students require programs and activities on specific topics and ensuring that the most appropriate programs are developed and provided to meet the needs of students. Some examples of statements on a student need assessment would be, “skills for conflict resolution, understanding the best career options for me, my counselor has met with me at least once to help me understand the relevance of the state assessment and what my scores mean to me, and I understand why I take the state assessment” (State Board of Education, 2019).

When it comes to students being able to honestly answer statements like the ones above, the role of the school counselor in developmental, behavioral, and social interventions, as well as their role in developing student-focused school-wide programs, is critical. For example, suppose the long-term goal is for a student to effectively resolve conflict. In that case, the school counselor must implement appropriate social and emotional learning programs for students to become self-aware, develop appropriate relationship skills, and accept responsibility for their decisions. To assist students in becoming educated and understanding what the best career options are for them, the school counselor provides appropriate resources to students and teachers, such as classroom and small group activities and college and career readiness curriculum, and encourages students to attend job fairs.

“K-12 student assessment programs work with educators to create valid, fair, research-based assessments that assess what students need to learn” (ETS, 2019, p.1). Students must be taught not only why assessments are important for their personal development but also how state assessments directly reflect their school. School counselors who implement school-wide programs allow the entire educational program to grow and improve. Implementing a school-wide program allows struggling students to become proficient and contribute to achieving higher academic standards for themselves and the school. Aside from developing, encouraging, and successfully implementing a school-wide program, the school counselor must also ensure that the program serves a purpose and is being reviewed and advised as needed. To accomplish this, the counselor must ensure that the school’s comprehensive plan meets and serves the needs of students who are struggling or on the verge of failing. Furthermore, the counselor must develop a school-wide program that explains to students, staff, and families how the school will improve academic achievement through data from state assessments, student performance, and observation (Department of Education, 2016).

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References

All Psychology Schools. (2019). School Counseling Careers: Job Description. Retrieved from All Psychology Schools: https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/school-counseling/job- Description/

ASCA. (2019). Role of the School Counselor. Retrieved from American School Counselor Association: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/administrators/role-of-the-school- counselor

ASCA. (2019). School Counseling Data Specialist. Retrieved from American School Counselor Association: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors/professional- development/asca-u-specialist-trainings/school-counseling-data-specialist

Department of Education. (2016, November 29). Supporting School Reform By Leveraging Federal Funds in a School-Wide Program. Retrieved from Department of Education: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/essaswpguidance9192016.pdf

ETS. (2019). State Assessment Programs. Retrieved from ETS: https://www.ets.org/k12/assessments/state-assessment-programs/

Grimsley, S. (2019). What Is Needs Assessment? Retrieved from Study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-needs-assessment-definition-examples- quiz.html

State Board of Education. (2019). Student Needs Assessment (Middle School). Retrieved from West Virginia Department of Education: http://wvde.state.wv.us/forms/counseling- assessment/?level=m

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