The American School Counselor Association

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.

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.

Teacher, counselor, administrator and other educational personnel organizations are in place to help those in education with a wide variety of circumstances. Some organizations have been in existence for over a hundred years, some have thousands of members and others are unique in the membership and partnerships. Since I will be a future counselor soon, I have chosen to research the American Counseling Association.

The interview conducted with Michele Mabrie, lead school counselor at Glen A. Wilson High School to discuss the comprehensive guidance program implicated at the school. Having been a school counselor for over 20 years Michele Mabrie provided insight and personal perspective on the school-counseling program through the school level and district level. To asses the necessary findings, the interview was conduced over the course of two days, first being an introductory interview discussing the school’s counseling program and the second centering on follow up questions. Questions provided, were used to help guide the discussion, which further assed the necessary information needed.

This paper will describe consultation and supervision in the counseling profession. Later, the credentialing process for school counselors will be discussed. Finally, the importance of counseling program accreditation will be examined.

ASCA, the American School Counseling Association, is the foremost association that provides researched components and foundations that detail how an effective school counseling program should be established and maintained (ASCA, 2012). The organization was founded in 1952, and established the ASCA: Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) in 2003. The ASCA model is broken down into four components: 1. Foundation, 2. Delivery, 3. Management, & 4. Accountability. Within the ASCA model “Foundation” component there are three domains. The “Mindsets and Behaviors” component is where college/career readiness is outlined. The ASCA (2012) model describes college/career

With the diversifying population in America’s schools, a profession school counselor should be culturally competent to meet the needs of all students. “The transformed professional school counselor is culturally competent, respectful of human diversity, and a school leader in ensuring that oppressive systemic barriers to academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social development are removed (Erford, 2015, p. 173).” A school counselor needs to have a deep understanding of a variety of cultures to meet the personal, emotional, developmental needs of a student using individual and group interventions while being aware of their cultural and spiritual needs.

National trends and demographics have changed the role of the professional school counselor in various ways over the years. Today’s school counselor roles differ from that of yesteryears. Change has taken form to reflect society’s economy, demographics, and overall trends relevant to that time period. Looking back to the inception of this career at the turn of the 20th century, the main roles reflected a nation with an influx of European immigrants that lacked the tools and resources needed for gainful employment during a time of the Industrial Revolution and urbanization. To better meet the needs during this time period focus was mainly on vocational guidance and counseling. Attention to individualized education led to

School principals typically hire and train school counselors to fulfill the needs of his or her respective school. How each individual principal views the position can be vastly different from district to district and even contrast between schools within the same district. This article disaggregates data from a study conducted in Florida where 459 middle school principals were interviewed and completed surveys regarding their desired roles and functions of their school counselors as well as how those counselors were being utilized within their schools currently. Additionally the article compares data from this survey to a similar survey conducted within the same demographics in 1993.

Professional school counselors face countless challenges, such as changes in demographics and diminishing resources such as time. Simply, School counselors attempt to do more with less time, while ensuring student success. In this paper, school counselors in training will examine the changes in capacities, the meaning behind “head, heart, and hands” of leadership, and the impact of the article on the future.

School Counselors are professional individuals that help students understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting the students educational or vocational situations. Also, Counselors provide crisis interventions to students when difficult situations occur at schools or the community. To become a School Counselor, the individual must earn a graduate degree in counseling on the specific field. A few of the skills that a counselor should have, are active listening, good communication skills, reading comprehension and critical thinking. Also, a counselor as to be well knowledgeable on human behaviors and performance, and have the ability to provide and conduct assessments and treatment of behavioral disorders in order

The law for school counseling has completely change. State laws have requested Professional School Counselors (PSC) to spend more time with school teachers, less time on paper work and other managerial tasks” (Dinkmeyer, 2006, 180). Along with this new framework PSC are allow4e more room and time for consultation which leads to the growth of “Individual Psychology.” The counselor who is defined as facilitator of change, cannot be “fully effective” if not given the opportunity to consult with children, parents, and faculty members, if he/she are only allowe4d traditional “administration” duties. “ASCA uses the terminology “consultation and collaboration” to emphasize the cooperative nature of the school counselor’s role. Working with teachers

Every since I entered the workforce as a high school graduate, my experience has allowed me the opportunity to work with young people in underserved communities, while making positive contributions in the fields of non-profit and education. When I began my career as an educator in a Title I school, my passion for creating and ensuring a safe learning environment for all students, while promoting their success through academic, career, and social/personal development, has lead me to pursue a career as a professional school counselor. As a teacher, I know that our students are facing challenges both at school and home that hinder them from meeting rigorous academic standards. I believe that pursuing a career in school counseling is critical

One outcome was that guidance counselors became responsive to day-to-day wishes of their school administration and were more likely to be identified with them” (p. 21). The identity of a guidance counselor was unclear before the identity of a school counselor. The guidance counselor profession was not a specialized occupation, but fell under the profession of administration. Because of the baby boom in the 1960s, education in counseling began. The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and Association for Counselors Education and Supervision (ACES) initiated developing and promoting standards for training school counselors that emphasized counseling theory and practicum training (Baker & Gerler, p. 22). The training consists of learning skills in one-to one counseling relationship. The decade of the 1960s, attempted to educate people in school counseling, but was unsuccessful to form a clear uniqueness of a school counselor. Without the transparent knowledge that guidance is under the umbrella of a school counselor profession, the perception of a unified identify of a school counselor is difficult to achieve. The struggles in history about understanding the occupation of a school counselor continue in modern day.