National School Counseling Week kicks off on Monday. The annual five-day event, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), celebrates the many ways counselors make a difference in the lives of students.
Online contests and local events are scheduled across the country, making it the perfect time to highlight the profession we love.
Continue reading Celebrate National School Counseling Week 2019
School shootings are a primary driver of student activism and political interest, a new study found.
In a study shared by Axios, 68 percent of people aged 14 to 29 said school shootings are the most important issue facing the US.
“The issue connects young Americans unlike anything except 9/11 in the last 20 years,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, told Axios.
Continue reading Students Believe School Shootings are Top Issue Facing US
Though being a counselor can often be a thankless job, there is at least one person publicly singing your praises.
Jessica Lander, a teacher and author in the Boston area, recently wrote an op-ed for The Boston Globe pleading with Boston and the state of Massachusetts to understand the value of school counselors.
Preliminary findings from a survey administered by AASA: The School Superintendents Association show that many school districts plan to use funding from the Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant program to improve school counseling.
Continue reading Survey Shows Schools Plan to Use Grant Dollars to Improve School Counseling
Nearly one-third of college-bound high school graduates don’t arrive at any college campus the following fall.
This pervasive problem is known as summer melt and Patrick O’Connor, a former NACAC president and current school counselor ambassador fellow at the US Department of Education, has some advice for combating it.
Continue reading Former NACAC President Offers Strategies to Prevent Summer Melt
Texas has an average of 449 students per counselor. Citing school safety concerns, one public school district in the state is looking to change that ratio.
Frisco ISD will add 44 counseling positions next school year, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The new staff members are expected to take over standardized testing duties and oversee services for students with disabilities. The hope is that these new counselors will make it possible for existing counselors on staff to spend more time focusing on the social, emotional, and mental health needs of students.
About 40 percent of undergraduates at four-year institutions do not complete a degree within six years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. And the number is even higher for low-income students.
One charter school system wants to change that statistic for their alumni. They have retooled their college counseling program and instead of focusing solely on getting into college, they now address what it takes to graduate from college.
Continue reading Charter School System Embraces New Approach to College Counseling
The ideal student-to-counselor ratio is 250-to-1, yet the average school counselor currently serves a caseload that is nearly twice that size.
What are the implications for students and for the profession? Experts from NACAC and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) addressed that question today during a Facebook Live Q&A.
“Student outcomes are better with the 250-to-1 ratio,” Jill Cook, ASCA’s assistant director noted during the chat. “Attendance is better, achievement is better, graduation rates (are better).”
Continue reading Student-to-Counselor Ratios: Watch Our Facebook Live Q&A
School counselors in US public schools currently serve an average of 482 students, a caseload nearly twice the recommended maximum of 250.
That finding is highlighted in a new report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) showing that the average student-to-school counselor ratio has increased by 1 percent over the past decade.
Continue reading Student-to-Counselor Ratios: See How Your State Stacks Up
Editor’s Note: National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, is always celebrated the first full week in February. Learn more about this year’s celebration and use the comment section below to let us know why you love being a school counselor.
When asked what I like most about my job, I always respond with: “Life is lived in my office.” My work days are filled with the highs, and occasionally the lows, of teenagers navigating high school, reflecting on their experiences, and planning for the future. As students share their lives with me, often with laughter yet sometimes through a few tears, it is inspiring. If anyone doubts we will soon find a nation filled with creative, diligent, and altruistic leaders, then they should spend a day with me. And here’s why:
