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When it comes to counseling and children and their academics my core values are to provide an environment where they can grow, learn, and heal academically, personally, and socially.  I want to be able to provide them the best possible opportunity to be the happiest and best person they can be.  I do feel like all children can learn, it is the responsibility of the teacher, counselor, and other faculty to figure out how to educate each child to the best of their ability, and if a child is deemed “unable to learn” then that would trigger the question, why?  What is causing the strife in the life of this child that they are not able to learn and then generate a way to help that student.  As a School Counselor, I hope to encourage and educate our future by giving them the best possible educational options, coping resources, and an unbiased safe place to talk if they ever need it.

I believe that all students can achieve their goals if they have their spirit fed by the adults around them.  The excitement that kids have when they are younger is something to be supported, not suppressed.  “School counselors facilitate counseling and educational services for students with the aim of promoting personal/social, academic, and career development” (Mullen, 2016).  I believe that giving students the coping skills to be able to handle dilemmas in every aspect of their life will strengthen their ability to be happy and productive adult.  Self-Efficacy is important to School Counselors, but I also believe it is vital in establishing the students’ abilities because, “self-efficacy is a cognitive process that influences ones’ thoughts and decision-making practices and is an important catalyst for taking action” (Mullen, 2016).  My idea is that the School Counselor teaches by example on self-efficacy, showing the students how to also believe in their abilities and to act.

Reference

Mullen, P. R., & Lambie, G. W. (2016). The Contribution of School Counselors’ Self-Efficacy to Their Programmatic Service Delivery. Psychology in the Schools, 53(3), 306–320. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21899

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My vision as a school counselor is to be a genuine and ethical person for the students to come to for assistance with education, personal issues, and social issues.  I want to be an advocate, demonstrate advocacy, leadership, understanding, and create a systemic change through the implementation of a school counseling program.

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ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies

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My Strengths

After taking the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies Assessment I now better understand my strengths and areas that need improvement within my own mindsets and behaviors (ASCA, 2019).  It appears that my strengths are that I demonstrate the belief that each student can succeed and should graduate prepared for postsecondary opportunities, demonstrate the belief that effective school counseling programs are a collaborative process involving school counselors, students, families, teachers, administrators, other school staff, and education stakeholders, and demonstrates the belief that school counselors are leaders in the school, district, state, and nation (ASCA, 2019).  This is all new to me and I know I could work on each aspect, but these are at least my beginning strengths as I continue my educational journey.

In the article, All Hands on Deck: A Comprehensive, Results-Driven Counseling Model the principal used a one-on-one approach with the counselors to better understand and assist with the progression of the School Counseling Program.  “Because the principal showed them respect, the counselors were willing to give new methods a chance. Those methods included using data to identify school counseling goals, serving as advocates for students and teachers, increasing collaboration among stakeholders, emphasizing accountability, and embracing systemic change, all of which are recommended in the ASCA National Model” (Salina, 2013).  This is a great idea and a wonderful thing that the principal is doing.  Working together as a team for the betterment of the students while following the ASCA National Model.  This was a very interesting read.

Areas of Improvement

The areas of improvement are demonstrating belief all students should have access to the school counseling program, demonstrating belief all students should have access and opportunity to high-quality education, and demonstrates the belief that school counseling programs promote and enhance student academic, career, and social/emotional outcomes (ASCA, 2019).  I feel like the more I learn the more I will improve on each of these mindsets.  I plan on continuing to educate myself by reading current advocacy issues, as well as re-reading the ASCA model to gain a fuller understanding of how to improve myself as a School Counselor.

As I was reading through this week’s required resources, I read in the article Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences Consulting with School Counselors: A Qualitative Study where, “…consultation is a key component of comprehensive school counseling programs, including the ASCA National Model, and is a strategy to impact students’ academic and personal/social development” (Cholewa, 2017).  This sounds like it could be the start of an improvement with the time issue currently facing School Counselors.  The school counselor acting as a consultant to the Teachers could provide the teachers with the tools to better help the students and always keep the ASCA National Model in mind.  Then the article School Counselors: Closing Achievement Gaps and Writing Results Reports states, “Today’s professional school counselors must demonstrate that their school counseling program is making a difference and closing gaps in achievement” (Hartline, 2012).  I will seek out different school counseling programs to be better acquainted with the different methods that are out there to work on this area of improvement for myself.

References

American School Counselor Association (ASCA). (2019). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association

Cholewa, B., PhD., Goodman-Scott, E., Thomas, A., PhD., & Cook, J., Ph.D. (2017). TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES CONSULTING WITH SCHOOL COUNSELORS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY. Professional School Counseling, 20(1), 77-88. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.77

Hartline, J., & Cobia, D. C. (2012). SCHOOL COUNSELORS: CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS AND WRITING RESULTS REPORTS. Professional School Counseling, 16(1), 71-79. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/school-counselors-closing-achievement-gaps/docview/1312675883/se-2?accountid=14872

Salina, C., PhD., Girtz, S., PhD., Eppinga, J., Martinez, D., Kilian, D. B., Lozano, E., Shines, T. (2013). ALL HANDS ON DECK: A COMPREHENSIVE, RESULTS-DRIVEN COUNSELING MODEL. Professional School Counseling, 17(1), 63-75. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/all-hands-on-deck-comprehensive-results-driven/docview/1558312633/se-2?accountid=14872

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I have taken two Harvard Implicit Bias tests and the results for the first one was that my data suggested a moderate automatic association for Objective with Scientists and Biased with Politicians, and the results for the second one was that my data suggested no automatic association between Black with Animal or Human.  This insight is valuable, and I would like to learn more about my implicit biases that I may have.  I believe my results are accurate and I plan on more self-exploration to better understand my strengths, weaknesses, and biases as I continue my education journey into my professional journey.  The hope with my self-exploration is to have a better understanding of how I think and what biases I might have to overcome.

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Lesson Plan for Social Emotional Learning

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This is my Social Emotional Learning classroom counseling lesson plan. The components of the plan include a walkthrough of the lesson plan, group discussion/shared questions, a video resource, a reading resource, five small group activities, and an assignment that will help the students to better understand social-emotional intelligence. I tried to have a component meet each learning style to try to ensure that each type of student, regardless of learning style, would at some point during the classroom lesson understand what was being taught.

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www.stopbullying.gov

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I have chosen to do a reflection on the article All Hands on Deck: A Comprehensive, Results-Driven Counseling Model.  This article describes All Hand on Deck as a counselor-led program with the help of a “Turnaround Principal”.  After being successful in increasing the graduation rate, as well as their passing level; the school had received a School Improvement Grant for the program.  There was a Professional Learning Community or PLC that was put in place which included the school counselor, a psychologist, a migrant specialist, an intervention specialist, a school social worker, and the turnaround principal.  The PLC would meet once a week to discuss graduation rate, course grades, attendance rate, and discipline referrals (Salina, 2016).  The theoretical framework of the program was designed to improve student performance by redefining the role of the school counselor, creating academic press, strengthening social support, and fostering relational trust.  Every student was also assigned a “Guardian Angel”, which was a member of the PLC who would check in with the student two to three times a week.  All Hands On Deck redefined the role of the school counselor by requiring counselors to attend to the themes of the ASCA National Model: leadership, collaboration, advocacy, and systemic change (Salina, 2016).  Another outcome was with students in the AHOD program, which felt supported, and they responded with a greater willingness to support students.  Relational trust was built throughout the staff, students, and parents, and this, to me, is just a great example of everyone coming together educational, personal, and social to help each other out and trying to make sure that everyone succeeds.  I want to work in an environment like this one day, to help students.

Reference
Salina, C., PhD., Girtz, S., PhD., Eppinga, J., Martinez, D., Kilian, D. B., Lozano, E., Shines, T. (2016). ALL HANDS ON DECK: A COMPREHENSIVE, RESULTS-DRIVEN COUNSELING MODEL. Professional School Counseling, 17(1), 63-75. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/all-hands-on-deck-comprehensive-results-driven/docview/1558312633/se-2?accountid=14872