SECTION 5: SCHOOL COUNSELING
G. SCHOOL COUNSELING
Students who are preparing to specialize as school counselors will demonstrate the professional knowledge and skills necessary to promote the academic, career, and personal/social development of all P–12 students through data-informed school counseling programs. Counselor education programs with a specialty area in school counseling must document where each of the lettered standards listed below is covered in the curriculum.
- FOUNDATIONS
- history and development of school counseling
- models of school counseling programs
- models of P-12 comprehensive career development
- models of school-based collaboration and consultation
- assessments specific to P-12 education
- CONTEXTUAL DIMENSIONS
- school counselor roles as leaders, advocates, and systems change agents in P-12 schools
- school counselor roles in consultation with families, P-12 and postsecondary school personnel, and community agencies
- school counselor roles in relation to college and career readiness
- school counselor roles in school leadership and multidisciplinary teams
- school counselor roles and responsibilities in relation to the school emergency management plans, and crises, disasters, and trauma
- competencies to advocate for school counseling roles
- characteristics, risk factors, and warning signs of students at risk for mental health and behavioral disorders
- common medications that affect learning, behavior, and mood in children and adolescents
- signs and symptoms of substance abuse in children and adolescents as well as the signs and symptoms of living in a home where substance use occurs
- qualities and styles of effective leadership in schools
- community resources and referral sources
- professional organizations, preparation standards, and credentials relevant to the practice of school counseling
- legislation and government policy relevant to school counseling
- legal and ethical considerations specific to school counseling
- PRACTICE
- development of school counseling program mission statements and objectives
- design and evaluation of school counseling programs
- core curriculum design, lesson plan development, classroom management strategies, and differentiated instructional strategies
- interventions to promote academic development
- use of developmentally appropriate career counseling interventions and assessments
- techniques of personal/social counseling in school settings
- strategies to facilitate school and postsecondary transitions
- skills to critically examine the connections between social, familial, emotional, and behavior problems and academic achievement
- approaches to increase promotion and graduation rates
- interventions to promote college and career readiness
- strategies to promote equity in student achievement and college access
- techniques to foster collaboration and teamwork within schools
- strategies for implementing and coordinating peer intervention programs
- use of accountability data to inform decision making
- use of data to advocate for programs and students