SCHOOL COUNSELING

A balanced, comprehensive school counseling program provides services to promote student success. It involves school counselors working in conjunction with parents, teachers and other school personnel and community agencies. Many developmental concepts that must be covered through a comprehensive program can be incorporated into other classroom studies, giving the school counselor more opportunities for direct counseling, prevention, and remediation functions. It is important that a comprehensive school counseling program provide a range of services in order to address the needs of all students. Counselors should strive to balance their time among all these services, based on the unique needs of their school community. By developing and implementing a comprehensive school counseling plan, school counselors can establish services and activities that allow them to spend most of their time providing direct services to children.

In the United States, the school counseling profession began as a vocational guidance movement at the beginning of the 20th century (Schmidt, 2003, p. 6). In 1907, Jesse B. Davis became the principal of a high school and encouraged the school English teachers to use compositions and lessons to relate career interests, develop character, and avoid behavioral problems. From that grew systematic guidance programs which later evolved into comprehensive school counseling programs that address three basic domains: academic development, career development, and personal/social development.

In North Carolina, one has to complete an approved master’s degree counselor education program in a regionally-accredited college or university in order to be a licensed school counselor. Within these counselor education programs, several standards are studied such as the professional identity of school counseling, cultural diversity, human growth and development, and career development. Also required are the core components for helping relationships, group and individual work, assessment, research and program evaluation, knowledge and requirements for school counselors, contextual dimensions of school counseling, foundations of school counseling and an internship under a highly qualified school counselor. School counselors are expected to apply their professional training in schools in order to support student success.

Through comprehensive school counseling programs of developmental, preventive, remedial, and responsive services, school counselors address academic development, career development, and personal/social development of students. While some specific activities and services may differ as counseling programs progress from the primary to the secondary levels, these essentials of school counseling programs are consistent throughout all grades.

LINKS

Survey Results For School Counselor Study for Session Law 2006-176

Sign up for the Student Support Services E-group
Current information and news of particular interest to school counselors and related student services staff.

School Counseling in North Carolina Information Sheet
A summary of best practices for effective comprehensive school counseling programs.
(pdf, 107kb)

From the Frontline: What's Really Going on with Testing Coordination
2003 School Counselor questionnaire summary results regarding the impact testing coordination has on the role of the school counselor.
(pdf, 151kb)

Report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (Revised May 2007)
Role School Counselors Play in Providing Dropout Prevention and Intervention Services to Students in Middle and High School. Session Law 2006-176 (Senate Bill 571).
(pdf, 1.22mb)

Report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (November 2007)
Implementation of State Board Policy QP-C-012 Policy Delineating the Job Description and Performance Criteria for School Counselors. Session Law 2006-176, Section 2 (Senate Bill 571).
(pdf, 1.41mb)