Elementary Years Education

School Counselors strive to make each student feel that there is someone in the school who knows and cares about them. Above all else school counselors are advocates for students, by acting as a resource for all students, course selection, and administration of guidance program for the student. Their goal is to help students overcome problems that impede learning and to assist them in making educational, occupational and life plans that hold promise for their personal fulfillment as mature, responsible men and women. Academic success is essential to the educational process, but it is not the only area students can excel in. A counselor’s work closely with both students and their families

My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.

ASCA National Model has Mindset and Behaviors guidelines for student success. These guidelines facilitate what a professional school counselor role is in schools, given 35 standards set forth as priorities. Professional school counselors have an important role in assisting students with their education as they focus on the 3 domains of the guidelines which enlist Academic, Career and Social/Emotional Development. This paper will focus on the areas a counselor needs to excel in, to show leadership and understanding of their profession. The areas include the following having a professional organization to belong to, clearly understanding ethical codes, ability to work with multicultural, GLBTQ students, importance of group work and career development.

In schools all over the world today, School Counselors are crucial to assisting students, parents, school administrations, and the community. I believe that creating an effective counseling program that supports the counselors’ role in education will foster a close interaction between students and counselor to achieve success in their personal/social lives, academic achievements, and college readiness careers.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) is the division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) that supports the development of professional school counselors. It published the ASCA National Model (2012), which provides a framework for a comprehensive school counseling program that includes four quadrants: Foundation, Delivery, Management, and Accountability. The National Model also offers a detailed account of the role, function, and competencies of professional school counselors. It specifically addresses how the proper use of professional school counselors and implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program can enhance the education of the whole student at the elementary, middle, or high school level (ASCA,

The role of a school counselor is an intriguing one because they do not work with a specific type of client. While they will always be working with young children or teenagers, the problems their clients come to them with can be so different from client to client. One session might be dealing with questions about career choices. Another might be about dealing with bullying. Some days a school counselor may even have to be there for a child who was a victim of sexual or physical abuse. It is because of this wide range of demands that a school counselor should be well-versed in many types of counseling theories.

I am interested in working with elementary or high school students. Working with these students in the school setting, I will be giving the chance to advocate and work with them and other organizations to assist in achieving a positive outlook on social, academic, personal and career development. Consulting and collaborating with parents, teachers, school administrators, medical professors, and other professionals in the medical and counseling field will also contribute to increasing my knowledge in staying with the counseling trends and strategies that will affect the development of students.

"The mission of school counseling is to provide a developmental and systematic comprehensive program that ensures academic, personal, social, and career development and achievement for all students," as such contemporary counselors have a lot on their plates (Rogers et al. 2011 p 8). Whereas counseling services were once thought of as necessary outside of vocational counseling, today's educational environments posit that counseling services are crucial to the academic, personal, and career success of today's students. Thus, the Miami-Dade and Hillsborough County School Districts have placed great importance on the role of the counselor, but there is still room for improvement in order to get to that ideal atmosphere where counselors can best help direct the lives of their students.

Comprehensive developmental school counseling programs provide education, prevention and intervention services, which are integrated into all aspects of children’s lives. Early identification and intervention of children’s’ academic and social/emotional needs is

Having the opportunity to interview Feliza Martinez, a University of California, Irvine graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a California State University, Long Beach graduate with Masters of Science in Counseling gave me a perspective of the type of work that she does as an elementary school counselor. We both come from the same background and have face challenges

A school counselor’s role is vital in many schools across America. Many students see their counselor, to work on any emotional stressors, academic changes and challenges. This may include, interventions, group therapy and changes in class schedule, but sometimes with all the implementations given, students do not succeed in school. Perhaps one needs to take a closer look at the programs being implemented and its success rate. In addition, a counselor should guide itself using the ASCA (American School Counselor Association) to provide evidence based practices in schools.

As a future school counselor, I can reflect that these past eight weeks, I have a full understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a school counselor in a traditional high school. Practicum 2 has been learning experiences that I will remember as I start my new profession. I believe that being exposed and actively involved with a group of school counselors brought a wide range of knowledge that I plan to utilize in the future. As a continuum from my Practicum 1, the following CACREP standards are mentioned below.

Impacting the lives of children must be approached from a team perspective to address all aspects of the child’s environment and relationships including caregivers, peers, teachers and school. Behavioral Counselors must collaborate with school counselors to understand the impact that school and teachers have on the child’s life. To appreciate School Counseling a review of the specialization’s history is important. School Counselors have evolved from vocational guidance and job-orientated counseling following World War I to educational guidance following World War II due to the passing of the GI bill as veterans were given right to education counseling (Minkoff, 1985). Today School Counselors support a wide variety of needs from a wide variety of student populations including but not limited to depression, college guidance, anxiety, oppositional disorder and developmentally delayed due to change in access to mental health care being more privatized (Lockhart & Keys, 1998). Lockhart states that because of the restructuring in access to care school counselors have been pushed to handle a wider variety of needs within mental health (1998).

School counseling as always caught my attention. When I started my higher education, I had a focus on studying Elementary Education. However, after completing a college assignment for one of my psychology course, I found a very interested area in Psychology which is counseling. Since then, I have falling in love with counseling, and have spent a lot of time researching the career. I have conducted different interviews and have engaged in different counseling events that have helped me get to know the career. Therefore, when given this assignment, I felt more than prepared because I have spent a lot of time researching this career. However, I used the given source, ONET, to have more of a broad understanding about School Counseling.

In schools all over the world today, School Counselors are crucial to assisting students, parents, school administrations, and the community. I believe that creating an effective counseling program that supports the counselors’ role in education will foster a close interaction between students and counselor to achieve success in their personal/social lives, academic achievements, and college readiness careers.