Advocacy: Advocacy is defined as any action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others.
Collaboration: Collaboration involves school counselors and all stakeholders working together toward common goals, which include to promote and enhance student development and achievement.
Systemic Change:  School counselors will examine policies and procedures, use research methods, and examine data to keep the program current and efficient. Dollarhide and Saginak (2017) state, “When leadership, advocacy, and collaboration move educational systems, schools, and communities forward in the best interest of learning, achievement, and development for all students, systemic change happens” (p. 70).

 

Another example collaboration can be utilized to create a safe school environment would be everyone working together to avoid students fighting. This can be done by paying attention to student conversations and having a presence in the hallways during passing period, then sharing information learned with each other so there can be a proactive response to situations before they can get out of hand and lead to an altercation. Especially in a high school, where teenage emotions run high, and they post everything on social media, saying things on there they would never say face to face.  Often times when this happen students don’t know how to handle confrontation appropriately, so instead they just get into a physical fight, which will lead to an uneasy and unsafe feeling in the school.

“Provide leadership to create systemic change to enhance the school” (ASCA Ethical Standards, 2016, B.2.d.). One of the emerging roles as a counselor is to serve a multi-cultural liaison of sorts for students, teachers, and families. "School counselors who are social justice change agents have the beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and skills to identify and take responsibility for eradicating systemic barriers by first recognizing the educational inequalities that exist for students of color and those from low-income environments" (Griffin & Steen, 2011, p. 76).

 

Another example using collaboration to achieve an equal opportunity to succeed academically would be for the high school to create an intervention team that includes administrators, counselors, and teachers that would work with at risk students.  A community asset map could be created so all stakeholders are aware of outside community agencies that can offer assistance as needed. At risk students would include students with known unstable home lives, possibly African American students, or other minorities, students with failing grades, and truancy issues.  The intervention team would work with the at risk student’s teachers, community agencies, as well as with them and their parents to provide whatever assistance might be needed to help them succeed.  

High School Counselors should inform students of resources such as scholarships or other forms of financial aid and information on enrollment to help students who are applying to college.

High School Counselors support and promote every student’s opportunity to achieve academic success in school (ASCA, 2012).  In order to continue academic success students need to learn ways to deal with conflict. Students may be referred to or seek guidance from the school counselor to help them develop problem-solving skills. High School Counselors demonstrate problem-solving skills to help students work through situations helping them make positive decisions that align with their goals they have set out to achieve (Trusty & Brown 2005). 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) between 2000 and 2016, the percentage of U.S. school-age children who were White decreased from 62 to 52 percent (Musu-Gillette et al., 2017). The demographics of American schools are changing. School counselors and educators must consider how race and class disparities, affect learning opportunities (Mordechay & Orfield, 2017). As Albert Ellis (2002) stated, practitioners should be multi-culturally open-minded and educate themselves about the governing rules of other cultures. Furthermore, the change in student demographics has presented new challenges for our school systems.

COLLABORATION:
To offer the greatest chance of success to high school students, it is important for the counselor to collaborate with the other stakeholders in the student’s life.  By enlisting the help of administrators, school social workers, if there are any, each of the student’s teachers, and parents, there is a greater likelihood of success.  The old African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child,” holds true in successfully educating them as well.  By utilizing the abilities, strengths, and available resources of the other stakeholders and by sharing the responsibilities and decision-making, it is possible to be of greater assistance to the success and safety of each student (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2017).

SYSTEMIC CHANGE:
School counselors are social justice change agents who have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to identify and eradicate educational systemic inequalities that exist for minority students and those from low-income environments (Ratts, DeKruyf, & Chen-Hayes, 2007). School counselors advocate change by working with local and global stakeholders to influence school/district policy and promote local/state legislation that supports equality. 
Furthermore, "school counselors are trained to view the world in terms of alternative perspectives, they can consult with teachers and offer alternative perspectives on low-income student and family behavior and assist teachers in designing more effective learning experiences. (Amatea & West-Olatunji, 2007, p. 82)

 This article began by detailing the developmental history of the school counseling profession. It later progressed into how and why leadership has been added as an extension of the movement. The ASCA’s 2005 National Model was discussed as the purpose of adding leadership as a theme for professional school counselors. This article is relevant to my topic because it demonstrated through, extensive research, that leadership is important to the profession of school counseling, the school community, and student achievement. The article also reviewed implementation of leadership throughout the school setting. In the end the authors of the article stated, that the leadership component is the final step of the school counseling movement (Wingfield, Reese, &West-Olatunju, 2010). 

 

Wingfield, R. J., Reese, R. F., & West-Olatunji, C. A.  (2010). Counselors as Leaders. Florida Journal of Educational Administration & Policy, 4 (1), 114-130. 

 This article focused on the professional school counselor’s important role of accountability when it comes to leadership. It is stated that this a leadership responsibility (Sink, 2009).  Professional school counselors are now being charged with adding an accountability skillset to what they do each and every day. This has become a push due to school improvement plans. The professional school counselor has to be able to document program accountability through evaluations of the school counselor, their mission statement, and their provided programs. This article is relevant to my topic because it reinforces the impact that school counselors have on student achievement, while incorporating the use of data to show this finding. In order for the professional school counselor to be an effective leader and advocate for students and the school community they must be able to show that they are utilizing best practices evidence, they are consistent about evaluating results of what they do, and they are genuine about reporting this data to districts and policy makers (Sink, 2009). Through these steps the professional school counselor will not only lead, but they will also hold themselves and their program accountable to provide the skills that students need to achieve and be successful. 

 

Sink, C. A. (2009). School counselors as accountability leaders: Another call for action. Professional School Counseling, 13(2), 68-74. 

 

Rock, W. D., Remley, T. P., & Range, L. M. (2017). Principal-Counselor Collaboration and School Climate. NASSP Bulletin, 101(1), 23–35. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1139019&site=eds-live&scope=site


Transforming School Counseling Practice through Collaboration and the Use of Data: A Study of Academic Failure in High School
The article written by Dimmitt and Carey, presents a study relating to the factors contributing to academic failure in high school.  Among the topics contributing to failure, it was found that the general climate of the school was a vital part.  Students are more likely to succeed where there is an emphasis on academics, and where both students and faculty feel both physically and emotionally safe (Dimmitt , 2003).  An administrative leadership that is positive and when collaboration occurs within the school also leads to more successful students.

Dimmitt, C. (2003). Transforming school counseling practice through collaboration and the use of data: a study of academic failure high school. Professional School Counseling, (5), 340. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgea&AN=edsgcl.106913868&site=eds-live&scope=site