It is my goal as a school counselor to foster children’s innate abilities to move from grades K-6 to middle school with the proper psychological and emotional maturity to handle their next life-oriented tasks. I believe all children have the potential to reach this level of maturity if given the properly nurturing environment. I believe this is the case because I believe that children are inherently good and willing to learn and even adapt, if necessary.

It is my duty as the school counselor to advocate for the students. I will do this by working directly and indirectly with the administration, teachers, parents and students to achieve what I believe to be a goal that everyone shares. This goal is to make sure our students are prepared for middle school in terms of their levels of academic achievements, mental stability and sociability (American School Counselor Association, 2019). 

There are many ethical standards to be upheld as a school counselor. All of them require a level of responsibility to the parents/ guardians, students and school. My decision making will be guided by these ethical standards to ensure that I maintain within the school setting certain levels of integrity, leadership and professionalism (ASCA, 2016). 

In the future, a school counseling program that I would like to start would be a support group similar to the one that I was a part of in my middle school years. This would be a support group for students who are struggling in school due to the stressors of home life situations or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).  In the school counseling program I will be focused on teaching the students healthy coping skills, engaging in positive social interactions, educating on healthy and unhealthy relationships and behaviors. In this group confidentiality, support, trust, and respect are vital components to building a strong support group for all members. In order to make this a measurable school counseling program I will be collecting data via surveys given prior to each session and after each session. In order to find the participants of this support group the teachers can recommend a few students, and/or parents can recommend their children for the support group. Prior to any recommendations of participants entering the support group, all students will receive a questionnaire that they can complete with or without their parents and/or guidance counselor. This questionnaire will determine if the students qualify to enter the support group for stressful and negative home life situations. To ensure that the academics of each student is improving with the help of coping skills from the support group. As the  school counselor I will provide weekly assessments for the teachers and parents to fill out determining their academic and psychological well-being at school and at home. Students will receive another survey purely for the academic portion to determine if they notice any improvements in their coursework. This group will consist of twelve to fifteen sixth graders who identify as female and will meet for eight weeks with two sessions per week. 

As a school counselor I will have to be fluid in my role and also firm in my ethical beliefs. I will need to be a person that the students can trust, confide in and open up to. I hope to create students that will make a significant positive impact on their communities by giving them the tools to succeed in their next level of education, middle school, and the tools to keep bettering themselves to one day create lasting change.

As the school counselor it is my responsibility to advocate for my students. I have noticed a concern across schools of students with ACEs or adverse childhood experiences(Blodgett & Lanigan, 2018). As the counselor I can help to provide a safe space where these students can express their concerns and gain healthy coping skills to deal with stressors. I will be creating an awareness for this issue and promote inclusivity for this population of students. These students will have a sense of community within the school and this builds their social skills and engaging in healthy relationships. By decreasing stress and increasing coping skills (building resilience) I hope to allocate these coping skills to their academics and will see improvements in their confidence and achievement in coursework. 

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

Blodgett, C., & Lanigan, J. (2018). The association between adverse childhood experience (ACE) and school success in elementary school children. School Psychology Quarterly, 33(1), 137-146. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000256

Kamrath, B., & Brooker, T. (2017). Improved Attitude and Achievement: A Case Study of an Elementary School Academic Advisement Intervention. Professional School Counseling, 21(1), 1096-2409-21.1. https://doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-21.1.60

Public Schools First NC | ACEs and Resilience: What Can We Do?. Publicschoolsfirstnc.org. (2020). Retrieved 30 January 2021, from https://www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org/resources/fact-sheets/aces-and-resilience-what-can-we-do/#:~:text=The%20adverse%20childhood%20experiences%20result,and%20mental%20and%20physical%20health. 

Login | Teachers Pay Teachers. Teacherspayteachers.com. (2021). Retrieved 1 February 2021, from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/Intro-to-the-Counselor-Lesson-Plan-2120931.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Center on Response to Intervention. (2010). Essential components of RTI: A closer look at response to intervention. Retrieved from http://www.rti4success. org/sites/default/files/ rtiessentialcomponents_042710.pdf