# data[].attributes.body
In the blog "The School Counselor as a Collaborative Leader" it discusses the professional roles that a school counselor play throughout the school year. It is important that school counselors develop a collaborative environment to help the success of students. School counselors have to work closely with teachers, parents administration, and athletic coaches.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
School counselors will wear many professional hats throughout each school year. A very important role is engendering collaboration between a child's parents/guardians and the staff of the school. Creating a collaborative environment is vital to building student success within your school and critical in regards to establishing yourself as a school counselor. Working With Teachers Successful school counselors are able to build effective relationships with the school's teaching staff. Always remember to include teachers within a discussion when the outcome will affect their classroom. If you don't want to be viewed as an outsider in their classroom, don't act like one. You may not always agree with the teacher but they should be respected as a professional in the same manner you wish to be. Working With Parents How many times do we hear our co-workers say, "They are uninvolved parents?" It may be possible those parents are saying, "They are uninvolved school counselors!" Don't be bashful when it comes to establishing and maintaining relationships with the parents of your students. They can be your greatest resource when working with your caseload. Take the lead and initiate conversations about minor issues. Perhaps, even make a phone call home or send an e-mail complimenting their child. Identify yourself as the "go to" person for many of their questions and explain how you can help them communicate with their children and the staff of the school. Working With Administrators Work with your building administrators to clearly identify when and how you would like to be contacted. It will be often that you will be involved in meetings with administrators regarding negative topics. Your role is to be a collaborative member of the school staff, but you are also a student advocate. Pick and choose your battles as needed, but be sure to navigate your path carefully. Going too far can be detrimental to both yourself and the student. Working With Athletic Coaches When it comes to student-athletes, coaches should be viewed as a valuable stakeholder in that student's future. This is especially true at the high school level. Coaches can be the influential force needed to finally "get through" to a student and can provide valuable assistance during the college search process. The daily routine of a school counselor can be as hectic as they come. It is important that our professional routine does not limit our ability to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with other people who play essential roles in developing student success. The more you keep others involved, the more you will be kept involved by others!
Share:

Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Also in Childswork-Childsplay Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The School Counselor as a Collaborative Leader

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
School counselors will wear many professional hats throughout each school year. A very important role is engendering collaboration between a child's parents/guardians and the staff of the school. Creating a collaborative environment is vital to building student success within your school and critical in regards to es

# data[].attributes.body
“Strengthening Links Between the Levels: School Counselor Collaboration for Successful Student Transitions” looks at the collaboration between elementary, middle and high school counselors and how it help facilitate students transition. A systematic approach was developed to assist middle school counselors to work with other school counselors and parents to help ease the transition for students. This approach was developed to for school counselors to work with other professionals as a way to provide families the extra support they need to help support their middle school students.  As described by the ASCA National Model for School Counseling Programs it is essential for school counselors to collaborate to help provide effective “developmental, comprehensive school counseling and guidance programs” (Dixon, DeVoss, & Davis, 2008). To help students and parents with the transitioning of school to school it is important that school counselors collaborate with the counselors from their sister school and together they work to provide collaborative student transition programs.

References

Dixon, A. L., DeVoss, J. A., & Davis, E. S. (2008). Strengthening Links between the Levels: School Counselor Collaboration for Successful Student Transitions. Journal of School Counseling, 6(21). Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ894792&site=eds-live&scope=site

# data[].attributes.body
Collaboration occurs when members of a learning community work together to increase student learning and achievement.

Collaboration between school counselor and other stakeholders are important to insure that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed successfully. It is important that the school counselor involves parents/ guardians in their child’s development to help promote student success. School counselors have to work with parents/ guardians, teachers, student support staff, administrators and community leaders to help serve as an advocate for students academics, career, personal and social needs.

The school counselor’s role is to provide “positive student behaviors to create a safe, effective learning environment for all students (The School Counselor and Discipline, 2019)” But it is no the counselors role to punish students but to create positive behavior changes. The school counselor collaborates with “families, teachers, administrators and other school personnel to understand developmentally appropriate student behavior and promote positive student behavior (2019).” Counselors also collaborate with mentors, peer support, conflict resolution and anger management programs to assist students in developing positive behavior skills.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2012). The School Counselor and Discipline.Alexandria, VA: Author.

# data[].attributes.headline
System Change: Response to Intervention (RTI)

# data[].attributes.subject
System Change: Response to Intervention (RTI)

# data[].attributes.body
Another responsibility of school counselors is to help ensure that every student has equal opportunities to succeed in their academic success. School counselors could advocate for the use of a Response to Intervention (RTI).

RTI "is a multi-tier model of school-wide service delivery intended to address the needs of academically diverse groups of students by measuring their response to research-based instruction (Fuchs et al., 2003; Graner et al., 2005 as referenced by Faggella-Luby & Wardell, 2011, p. 36). There are three tiers that students fall into, based on data collected across all subjects and social emotional assessments. This model would help to organize students into different tiers in order to create individualized, small group, and whole class plans to address all student academic needs.

# data[].attributes.body
American School Counselor Association. (2012). ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

Faggella-Luby, M., & Wardwell, M. (2011). Rti in a Middle School: Findings and Practical Implications of a Tier 2 Reading Comprehension Study. LEARNING DISABILITY QUARTERLY, 34(1), 35–49. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edswss&AN=000300336300003&site=eds-live&scope=site

Pas, E. T., Ryoo, J. H., Musci, R. J., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2019). A state-wide quasi-experimental effectiveness study of the scale-up of school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Journal of School Psychology, 73, 41–55. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2019.03.001

Sink, C. A., & Ockerman, M. S. (2016). School Counselors and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports: Cultivating Systemic Change and Equitable Outcomes. Professional Counselor, 6(3), v–ix. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.15241/csmo.6.3.v

# data[].attributes.headline
System Change: Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports  (PBIS)

# data[].attributes.subject
System Change: Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports  (PBIS)

# data[].attributes.body
One responsibility of school counselors is advocating for a program that creates safety. One way to help with this is presenting Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS).

Many Middle Schools have found success with improving behavior, and thus safety, through the use of PBIS. According to a study by Pas, Ryoo, Music and Bradshaw (2019), when looking at the Tier 1 use of PBIS "explicitly targets the school's systems and procedures to prevent and respond to disruptive behavior, with an emphasis on clarity and consistency" (p. 41). The study also found that Middle School's that implemented PBIS had, "significantly lower suspensions and truancy rates during the second study year and higher reading and math proficiency rates during the second and third study years" (Pas, Ryoo, Music & Bradshaw, 2019, p. 41).

School counselors could work with various stakeholders, and students, to develop an effective PBIS system in order to create a safe and consistent school environment.

# data[].attributes.body
Leadership – the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group in their efforts toward achieving a goal in a given situation (Dollarhide & Saginak 2017).

Lindberg (2017) states that school counselors are the “heart of the school.” We couldn’t agree more.

There are many ways in which leadership in the school counseling role can be used to create a safe school environment. If students do not have proper guidance, then the school environment can become unsafe. Dollarhide and Sagnik (2017) state that the school counselor is synonymous to the copilot of an airplane. That’s pretty powerful, don’t you think? Dollarhide and Sagnik (2017) also “focused on the school counselor as a leader in promoting educational reform and meeting educational objectives that are inclusive of creating safe school environments,” (p. 89).

Using leadership to ensure students have equal opportunities to succeed academically is quite a smart tactic. Being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility. One of those responsibilities is the carrying the bridge of students’ success, both large and small. This includes students of all ethnicities’, backgrounds, walks of life, etc. It seems apparent that leaders are going to lead. When leading a group or in this case an entire school, school counselors have the opportunity to advocate for students that stem from a variety of backgrounds. Just the idea of school counselors being able to connect with many different individuals both on the state and local side grant assurance that everyone will have equal opportunities.

It is obvious that school counselors work with many different individuals. These individuals range from students, teachers, community leaders, school board professionals, mental health professionals, etc. The list could go on for days. School counselors work with all different types of people to ensure one thing: student success and school safety. For example, having a school counselor reach out to a troubled teen’s mom is reassuring. Knowing that someone cares enough about the safety of schools and students to make contact with individual parents and authorities depicts how leadership in this position closely relates to school safety and student success. School counselors “are especially vital in ensuring underserved and first-generation students have access to and the tools to reach all possible post-high school options,” (Lindberg 2017).

References

Dollarhide, C. T., & Saginak, K. A. (2017). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action. Boston: Pearson.

Lindberg, S. (2017). 11 Ways Your School Counselors Serve as Leaders. Retrieved from https://schoolleadersnow.weareteachers.com/school-counselors-as-leaders/

(2011, November 18). School Counselors! Leaders in School Reform, Student Achievement and College Readiness. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ZgldBB2Hlzs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
School Counselors!  Leaders in School Reform, Student Achievement and College Readiness

# data[].attributes.body
American Counseling Association (ACA). (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved September 6, 2019 from http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4

American School Counselor Association (2010). Ethical standards for school counselors [White paper]. Retrieved September 5, 2019 from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

Stone, C. B., & Zirkel, P. A. (2010). School counselor advocacy: When law and ethics may collide. Professional School Counseling, 13(4), 244–247.

Upton, W. (2017, December). The Importance of Advocacy. Retrieved September 6, 2019 from https://www. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/newsletters/december-2017/the-importance-of-advocacy

# data[].attributes.body
For many students, the Middle School years can be exceptionally challenging as students transition from an Elementary schooling environment. This shift in social setting and academic teaching style has the potential to affect a student’s ability to cope and adjust properly. Advocacy in school counseling plays a vital role in ensuring that students have access to the resources they need to be successful (Upton, 2017), and provides the best outcomes for their mental health and academic achievement goals. School counselors have the unique opportunity to advocate on not only the behalf of individual students, but also for underrepresented student groups, campus practices, district policy evaluation, and legislative changes. The ASCA Code of Ethics sets forth guidelines for school counselors as it relates to their professional responsibilities, including expectations in relationships between the students, parents, schools, and other stakeholders involved in the social/emotional development of students (ASCA, 2010). It serves as a reference point for the main purpose of the counselor’s role to advocate on behalf of the student populations they serve. Advocacy creates a safer school environment by ensuring students’ best interests are always being considered during the planning stages of an academic school year. It also safeguards against under performing students getting lost in the shuffle by taking extra care to provide resources for them to have a fair chance of academic excellence with their peers (Stone & Zirkel, 2010).

Building rapport among school administrators and colleagues is especially important when creating the systems that need to be in place in order to effect change (ACA, 2014). In order to provide resources for students outside of school, it is imperative for a school counselor to create relationships with community leaders from church pastors to social services representatives. These members of the community can exchange pertinent information with the school counselor so that he or she may provide supplemental support to students and their families. Reaching out to community leaders would be a great strategy for creating and establishing programs to better serve the student population. Depending on the location, students may need more outside assistance than internal programs can provide due to legalities or funding. For example, if students are showing a lack of focus or energy during school hours due to a lack of nutrition, the school counselor could seek nutritional assistance for them by finding out about local food pantry programs or state funded food assistance for their families.
The following video contains statistics about students in the state of Texas, a student perspective on the expectations and need for a school counselor, and short description on the importance for school districts to provide funding for school counselors:

Citation
School Counselor Advocacy Video [Video File]. Retrieved September 6, 2019 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeG7GYEz5j8

# data[].attributes.body
According to the American School Counselor Association National Model Framework (2012), "school counselors participate as members of the educational team and use the skills of leadership, advocacy, and collaboration to promote systemic change" (p. 1). In order for School Counselors to create a program that is equitable for all students in the school, they need to be fierce advocates for systemic change. According to Sink and Ockerman (2016), "school counselors must proactively adapt to the varied mandates of school reform and educational innovations" (p. v).

There are many system changes that school counselors need to be onto look-out for. Two very important areas that they need to be using data and observation to evaluate are safety and academic opportunity for all students. An amazing framework that Middle School counselors could consider would be the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). Even though there are other system changes counselors could make, because "doing so allows schools counselors to utilize and showcase their leadership skills with key stakeholders and to create systemic changes in their schools and thus foster equitable outcomes for all children" (Sink and Ockerman, 2016, p. vi). A MTSS framework helps to address safety, through Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), and academic success for all students, through Response to Intervention (RTI). Please reference the separate areas on this padlet to learn for about PBIS and RTI systems.

A large aspect of school counselors being able to make system changes is through the collaboration with other professionals and stakeholders. In order to promote and support the creation of MTSS systems, school counselors would need to work with teachers, administrators, families, students, and maybe even community and board members. Without the support of the entire middle school community, the systems will not be strong enough to ensure safety and academic success for all students.