These are goals, guidelines, and policies specific to a school and school district that relate specifically to the students of that system and the school counselor. The program is intended for school counselors to employ to provide effective and positive support and advocacy for students. This program is important for school counselors because it provides a road map for school counselors to follow and refer to for success with students and their achievements.

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School Counseling Scope of Practice:

This refers to a school counselor’s educational/professional experience and ability to appropriately perform the assigned job duties and roles. The school counselor must stay up to date on licensure and certificates to remain competent in the position. This is important for the school counselor to continue growing and improving their knowledge and abilities to best assistant, advocate, and support students.

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Academic Development:

Academic development refers to students’ academic success and growth as they go through their educational careers. It is imperative as a school counselor to know and understand how to nurture, support, and advocate for students' academic needs regarding their development at all ages and grade levels.  

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Career Development:

Ultimately, students are learning so that when they are adults, they are capable of creating and obtaining career goals and able to live successful lives. Career development looks different at all school levels but holds the importance of focus for school counselors to help create passions and shape and inform students of possibilities for their lives after grade school.

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Social/Emotional Development:

This is another key focus in the school counseling program (along with academic and career development). Social/Emotional Development is approached differently at all grade levels and as students' social/emotional needs change. The goal is for students' social/emotional needs to be identified, advocated for, and supported so that students can grow, succeed, and feel comfortable and confident in their academic and social environment.

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ASCA Mindset and Behaviors:

Mindsets are beliefs, while behaviors are the attitudes and actions students have toward their academic achievements (American School Counselor Association, 2021). School counselors consistently work toward achieving positive mindsets and behaviors in students to promote positive academic, social/emotional, and career development.

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ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors:

A set of standards or guidelines for School Counselors to follow while in their role to ensure all students are receiving respectful, equitable advocacy, support, and interactions from the school counselor.

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ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies:

These are guidelines outlining the mindsets and behaviors school counselors need to ensure they are meeting the expectations for school counselors to be able to meet students’ needs effectively.  

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School Counseling Direct Services:

Direct services are acts of providing assistance and interactions with students directly. For example, interactions that are face-to-face.

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School Counseling Indirect Services:

These are interactions that provide assistance or service to students indirectly, such as a school counselor offering teachers assistance who then go and make an impact on students based on that assistance.

All students have the ability to achieve academic, career, and social/emotional success when the right variables are in place. It is essential that school officials remain flexible to help all students achieve. Students need to have an unwavering amount of support and be able to trust authoritative and influential individuals so that when they do need help, they’re comfortable asking.

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Personal Understanding of School Counselor’s Role as an Advocate and Systemic Changer:

To hold the title of a school counselor means representing a key component of social and emotional advocacy tied to the academic success of students. According to the ASCA, the role of the school counselor includes designing and delivering school counseling programs based on the areas of the ASCA National Model and connecting those programs to the school’s academic mission. Additionally, school counselors help students to manage their emotions and to apply interpersonal skills, as well as help them to plan for post-secondary options. The title of school counselor is used to help shape the evolution of a more structural and organized profession that uses its programs to define, manage, deliver, and assess.

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How I will Consult and Collaborate with School Stakeholders and How ASCA Ethical Standards and Guidelines will Shape my Work:

As a school counselor, there will be instances where I will need to communicate and engage with stakeholders. I will uphold the ASCA ethical standard of section A.5.b (Sustaining healthy relationships and managing boundaries) to build and develop relationships with stakeholders to support students. While serving the community of students outside of the school, it will be vital that as a professional I maintain the ethical codes and standards. Furthermore, as a school counselor, I will maintain a professional disposition of impartiality, to ensure that any biases that arise do not affect my actions.

Program assessment aims to “guide future actions within the school counseling program,” (American School Counselor Association, 2019). The program assessments typically occur annually. The program's assessment process involves school counselors analyzing data from students’ mindsets and behaviors and outcome data. The goal is for school counselors to identify student progress and the strengths and areas for growth within the comprehensive school counseling program. From there school counselors can alter the program where needed to ensure more future success within the school and with students as individuals.

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Annual Results Reports:

The purpose of annual results reports is to use the data and results from the reports to establish how much change or improvement there has been in student learning and to use that to promote school counseling program growth and change. To generate these reports three types of data is collected. The first is participation, being the who, what, and when of the data. Secondly, mindsets and behaviors, the presets for measuring student change in knowledge, attitudes, and skills, and thirdly outcome data, what is revealed to be the impact on students’ achievements. These annual results reports are meant to ensure the school counseling program being implemented is effective.

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School Counselor Assessment and Appraisal:

The purpose of the school counselor assessment and appraisal is to get insight into the direct school counselor and their abilities, strengths, and areas that need improvement to further student achievements. This involves self-assessments and evaluation by a qualified administrator. Just as the school counselor analyzes data collected on students’ achievements, a school counselor needs to be aware of their direct role in the school counselor program. Self-assessments and personal reflection can give insight into what is working for the school counselor and where there is room for improvement. There should also be such reflection from a qualified individual to help support and encourage the school counselor in where their strengths are and where growth is needed for their direct part in the school counseling program. The ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies assessment should be used to assess the school counselor’s knowledge, attitude, and skills.

The mindset M1: Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being matches the lesson plan of social/emotional learning skills in 2^nd graders by setting a goal that is possible for every student to achieve and is personable enough for each student’s specific point of obtaining the mindset to be unique. The Behaviors B-SMS 1, responsibility for self and actions, and B-SMS 7, effective coping skills were also outlined in the lesson plan. These behaviors go hand in hand with the mindset with the goal of students becoming aware of what they are feeling in difficult moments, and then learning and choosing healthy coping skills to decrease the number of disciplinary referrals. An additional Mindset and Behavior I would select for this lesson is the behavior B-SMS 5, perseverance to achieve long and short-term goals. While behavioral changes occurring right after the lesson are encouraged and hoped for, there should also be the goal of long-term change in mindsets and behaviors to ensure the students remain focused on identifying feelings and applying healthy coping skills throughout the school year. Posting feelings charts or graphics on the classroom walls that were used during the lesson plan would help students remember this specific lesson and to continue working on strengthening their social/emotional development.

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Pre- and Post-Assessment Aligning/Not Aligning with Mindsets and Behaviors:

The pre-and post-assessment results do align with the chosen Mindsets and Behaviors (M1, B-SMS 1 and 7). In the pre-assessments when asked questions regarding being aware of one’s feelings in difficult situations or understanding how feelings affect behavior, more than half the students chose the answer of not sure. In the post-assessment those same questions had almost all the students answering mostly true, demonstrating after the lesson they are understanding the importance of being aware of their feelings and being more aware of how their feelings impact their behavior. Before the lesson, there was an average of 30 disciplinary referrals a week. The target was to get the referrals down to 21 after conducting the lesson. This goal was met.

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Lesson Content Matching Selected Mindsets and Behaviors Skills:

The lesson’s content does match the selected mindsets and behaviors. The mindsets and behaviors represent students demonstrating identifying feelings and displaying coping skills for healthy social/emotional well-being. Students were first presented with the topic of feelings and behaviors, then directed to identify feelings and behaviors they experience. Visuals were presented with an emoji poster board and a feelings wheel, along with two videos relating to emotions. There was also a hands-on activity with a paper being folded into 4 to identify triggers and feelings, and then brainstorm appropriate coping skills. The lesson matches very well with the selected mindsets and behaviors.

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Timing is Everything:

This lesson was 30 minutes long. 30 minutes is not long enough for students to learn the information and store it in their long-term memory. The post-assessment was taken directly after the lesson while the material was fresh in the student’s memory. It would be interesting to readminister the post-test a week later. Changing behavior requires repetition, which requires more than a onetime 30-minute lesson. In my opinion, the lesson length of 30 minutes is appropriate for student engagement and focus, however, the students would best benefit if they had the opportunity to re-address the lesson say weekly.

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Modifying the Lesson Plan:

To align with my creativity, knowledge of the ASCA National Model, and skillset I would modify the lesson by adding a task for the students of creating visual feelings posters and a possible coping skill to implement when someone is experiencing that feeling, and then instructing the teachers to hang the posters around the classroom. That way, when a student is having large feelings during the school day, the teacher can point to the posters and suggest a healthy action/coping mechanism. For example, if a student is feeling frustrated, they could take a drink of water and take 5 deep breaths. Having the posters hanging up would remind the students to be aware of their feelings, and to be reminded of appropriate, healthy behaviors.  

The target age for this lesson plan is kindergarten through 3^rd grade. The lesson involves the counselor teaching students what anxiety and stress are, what can cause the emotions, and then talking about healthy ways to cope with stress and anxiety. The goal of the lesson is to simplify for young students what anxiety and stress are and to present fun, memorable coping skills. The lesson provides age-appropriate activities and open conversation, ensuring students' curious minds understand the meaning of stress and anxiety, and that they have colorful graphics they can refer to in the future when experiencing stress and anxiety. A challenge for me in implementing this lesson with elementary students is the time frame of 30 minutes, especially for kindergarten students. The pre- and post-assessments are completed electronically, which poses a barrier with children who cannot read or read poorly and will need assistance completing the assessments. The lesson includes open conversation and presentation of what stress and anxiety are, a coloring/drawing activity, more open conversation, mindfulness, and grounding coping techniques, and then a “copecake” activity. I feel that to meet the time frame not much meaningful time can be spent on each activity.

American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA Student Standards; Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (n.d.). The essential role of elementary school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/1691fcb1-2dbf-49fc-9629-278610aedeaa/Why-Elem.pdf

Han, R., & Schubert, C. (2022, April 22). CSP 515 - mangaging stress anxiety asca lesson plan template. Scribd. https://www.scribd.com/document/571140286/csp-515-mangaging-stress-anxiety-asca-lesson-plan-template?doc_id=571140286&download=true&order=648656766