Professional Goals In Urban School

The opportunities and future outlook for high school counselors will greatly depend on the size of the school and its district. Currently, in the Duncanville School District, there are very limited spaces for school counselors. On the other hand, other local larger school districts are in need of high school counselors because there are many students who are in need of needing someone to speak to about their life issues and other social problems that they continue to encounter on a daily basis. The increase in student enrollment and the building of new schools is not a negative situation. It is more so a situation that opens the doors for more individuals who have been certified in the area of counseling. Overall, “employment for educational, vocational, and school counselors is expected to grow by 14 percent, which is faster than the average for all occupations” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010-11, p. 1).

I have a personal connection with the children in these areas because I am too come from a low income, impoverished, rural area. I understand the hardships that many kids will face because of the lack of educational resources and quality teachers. I believe that many of the obstacles can be abstained if each student is able to be impacted by a teacher who is resilient and passionate as I was impacted by Ms. Gloria Brantley. As a child growing up in rural Georgia I had no aspirations in furthering my education. I did not dream of being a doctor, teacher or lawyer because I did not have the encouragement from my family or other teachers. It was not until I met my sixth grade English teacher Ms. Brantley that I started to believe that I could actually do something with myself and that I did not have settle for the life that I was accustomed to. She saw the determination

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.

I desire to pursue school counseling as my career to become an effective and successful leader in this profession. Why? I have always held a passion for touching the lives of the youth in a great and positive manner. A licensed school counselor entails helping students with academic achievement, personal/social growth and career development, ensuring students become the industrious, well-balanced adults of tomorrow. while, operating as a professional school counselor involves me obtaining the appropriate knowledge and skills that will support me with providing exceptional service for clients. I believe that I can obtain this intelligence here at Capella University. I comprehend that as a professional school counselor I would be expected

It was during my senior year of college that I decided I wanted to become a school counselor. Up until my senior year in college at Penn State I did not know where I wanted to take my career but I knew I wanted to work in a school setting and I knew that I wanted to work with kids. When it came time to choose an internship site for my last semester, I chose an alternative school called Buxmont Academy in Bethlehem where I would be shadowing two of their school counselors as well as engaging with the students themselves. I got to work with these children on a more personal level, gaining an understanding of their emotions, experiences, and difficulties, as most of these children came from broken homes, and drug and alcohol related settings. I am interested in becoming a school counselor because I want to help. When I become a counselor I want to make a difference in a child’s life whether that be by simply giving them support that they might not have in their lives or helping them make changes to better themselves and their futures. A counselor has such an important role in helping to shape young children and that is something that I want to be a part of.

For my interview project I interviewed a counselor named Cristina Kleinfelter who works at Pottsgrove Middle School with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Her and a colleague split 400 students in the school and meet with each one of their 200 assigned students when needed. She sees students when she goes to the classroom to teach social skills, and help with college. They both have a mixed population of students they work with whether it be students from broken homes, good homes, etc. She has her Master’s Degree in Counseling and is certified in school counseling, she has been in this field for 14 years so far. She works with the 8th graders the most, with their high school schedules, she explains to them how to pick classes and how to apply to

When I moved to this area, we looked to live in a “better neighborhood” not only because we felt safer, but we also wanted to ensure my daughter received the best education opportunities. While it is challenging to make changes and ensure we are benefitting all students, I feel this is a larger part of why I am currently getting my degree in this field; so that I can be a voice of change and seek out ways to benefit all students to reach their full potential.

He relayed to me another negative side to the field of school counseling is the fact that you are the middle man between the student, teacher, and parents. It is important that as a counselor we advocate for the students, but we also work with the teachers, therefore trying to maintain peace with the teachers and help the students succeed can be hard at times. Finally having no parental support is a huge negative aspect to this career, as a counselor we can only do so much and when there isn’t that parental support at home, the help and support we can provide can only go so

For this paper, I decided to focus my attention on one population that I am potentially interested in working with, which are high school students. The first person I interviewed was a ninth-grade counselor at Alain Leroy Locke College Prepartory Academy. The second person I interviewed was a College Adviser, placed through USC, at Diego Rivera Learning Complex. While the first interview was conducted on site at Locke, the second interview was conducted on campus at USC. For both interviews, I came equipped with my questions already printed out and ready for me to write my interviewees responses down. In discussing the challenges that both the counselor and adviser experience in terms of learning, it is important to first understand the population of students that both professionals work with. While both schools are in South Los Angeles, Diego Rivera Learning Complex is a part of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), while Alain Leroy Locke is run by Green Dot Public Schools—even though it is still within LAUSD boundaries. Both schools have a primarily minority and low-income population.

Currently, I am student teaching at Alfred E. Zampella PS #27 School in the district of Jersey City. The school is located in a busy city, next to John F. Kennedy St. which is especially busy in the morning and during rush hour. This results in several late students on a day to day basis. On the other hand, this school is also highly accessible and as a little over a thousand students. The school has grade levels from kindergarten to 8th grade, and has a mix of general, special, and inclusion education classrooms. Typically, families that enroll their students into this school are of lower-middle socio-economic class, and tend to be majority Hispanic, Indian, and African American, with few Caucasians and Asians. This school provides a variety of special programs for their ESL students and special need students. Students may be offered speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, ESL programs, reading recovery, and counseling.

One of my goals for the future is to obtain my master degree in school counseling. I believe that school counselors can make a tremendous difference in student lives; they can empower students to reach their full potential. I am currently working as a Parent Involvement Facilitator for the Washoe County School District, and I am also doing my internship with a school counselor at an elementary school. In addition, my undergraduate degree is in Human Development and Family Studies. Also, I volunteer at my church as a youth leader. Most of the positions where I have worked or volunteered, I have been able to work with families to help them reach their goals. For example, in my position as a Parent Involvement Facilitator I help families find

My educational career started from an urban charter school that specifically targeted students of East African descent like me. Most of the students looked like me, talked like me, came from the same home background as me. And it’s where I met and made most of my lifelong friends. I don’t remember talking very much in school, in hindsight I guess that is why my participation grade was always so low. But I was a “good” student if good meant not getting into trouble, not talking when the teacher was talking, following directions without complaint. Then I was a good student. And because I always turned my homework on time and didn’t get into trouble that equated me to goody two shoes status and teachers pet with my peer.

Personally, this author believes that a professional school counselor who has a strong multicultural sensitivity can change and improve a school community.

I think at-risk children and adolescents would benefit from a shared resource with those who are not at-risk. For instance, a mentoring program would connect the two “types” of students with each other, I believe this is needed because opening students’ minds about issues and how everyone goes through them which can help them feel supported and that it is not just them going through it. It can also help by helping those who are going through the same issue understand how to help each other as well. They could better understand what support their peers need than some counselors because of the age and generational similarities. Also, if these students are at the same school, they can use the connect to give support outside of the counseling session

I am a born leader. Even when I am not looking for leadership opportunities they always seem to fall into my lap. My life has been one that is based on service to others, so I regularly volunteer for committees and extend myself to help others. It is important to me to be the best teacher I can, I regularly attend professional development sessions and implement my new learning in the classroom. However, upon starting the Teacher Leadership Master’s program at Lamar University, I was just beginning my career as a teacher leader. I had not had many opportunities to show leadership outside of my grade-level team. During team planning meetings, I normally directed the discussions. My coworkers looked to me for guidance and interpretation of the curriculum. I regularly made suggestions about teaching strategies. Additionally, I was a member of various campus committees including the Campus Performance Objective Committee (CPOC) where worked together with campus administrators and community partners to develop the Campus Improvement Plan. However, I did not view these tasks as leadership opportunities.