The Role of a School Counselor
Professional school counselors are credentialed educators whose primary focus is to address the developmental needs of students in 3 important areas: academics, career and social/emotional. Apart from these 3 areas, professional school counselors also focus on different areas depending on district/site. On a daily basis, school counselors are involved in developing student education, conflict resolution, career planning and much more (ASCA, 2019). Not only do school counselors assist students, but also collaborate with parents, administrations and teachers to ultimately help students achieve success. A school counselor’s main role is to offer students the assistance they need in order to pursue their goals. Whether it’s going over credits to graduate high school, to researching colleges of the student’s interest, school counselors serve different students upon different communities. Each student has different needs and school counselors are open to adjusting depending on each situation. School counselors’ focus on strategy building and providing students/teachers with the proper techniques in order to have students succeed academically. They serve as advocates for students who may not have the courage to speak for themselves and essentially are stakeholders for students.
The Duties and Responsibilities of a School Counselor
When it comes to the counseling profession, there is a lot of misconception about the duties and responsibilities of a school counselor. Many educators believe that school counselors don’t do much for students and spend too much time in their office changing schedules. However, school counselors are educators who collaborate with school personnel and devote their time to students in various ways. School counselors are a big part of academic achievement, career and social/emotional development and ensuring that students are equipped with the proper skills and strategies in order to be successful (ASCA, 2019). Like mentioned before, school counselor responsibilities and duties change from district to district. There are some common duties that counselors have in general like; individual sessions with students that primarily focus on academic planning and creating goals for next year, individual social/emotional counseling, group counseling, classroom presentation on appropriate lessons, collaborating with administration/teachers/parents/community for student success, advocating for students, and collecting data to identify needed interventions.
How Professional School Counselors Benefit Students
Students of all different levels have struggles that they all face when it comes to school. School counselors offer students the support they need and it becomes really beneficial when a student needs social/emotional, academic and career support. Building rapport with students is one of the biggest components when it comes to school counseling. It is also imperative to create these bonds with students because it allows school counselors to really view the big picture. Another way that school counselors benefit students is by serving as their advocate when a student may not know how to be one for themselves. Conflict resolution is a valuable strategy that counselors use in the lower grade levels and it assist students by being mediators. School counselors also support with student behavior, grief, bullying, developing skills, and low academic performance. School counselors are a big part of education, and severely are needed when it comes to education.