National Center for Transforming
School Counseling
at The Education Trust
School counselors have an enormous impact on student achievement and attainment. From the courses students take and the teachers to whom they’re assigned, to the goals they set and paths they pursue after they leave the school doors, school counselors are powerful forces in their schools and in the lives of their students.
Yet, school counselors have been all but left out of the dialogue and action of the standards-based reform movement and, today, those entering this changing field are too often being left unprepared to serve as effective advocates for all students, particularly low-income students and students of color, who most need our help.
The National Center for Transforming School Counseling works with a network of organizations, state departments of education, school counselor professional associations, institutions of higher education and school districts across the country dedicated to transforming school counselors into powerful agents of change in their schools and in the lives of their students.
By arming practicing school counselors with the data and knowledge to lead school efforts to raise achievement and close gaps, The National Center for Transforming School Counseling works to take school counselors from the margins to the mainstream of the new mission of schools – to educate ALL students to high levels.
The National Center for Transforming School Counseling:
§ Sounds a collective voice for school counselors for closing the achievement gap and raising the achievement levels of ALL students;
§ Advocates for--and partners in--the transformation of Counselor Preparation Programs;
§ Assists state departments of education in aligning policies to integrate counselors into gap closing strategies to speed the pace of reform;
§ Analyzes and disseminates research on effective school counseling practices;
§ Produces publications, data tools, syllabi and policy statements to promote and build the capacity of this national movement.
§ Leads professional development workshops for practicing school counselors focused on the new vision and skills demanded in standards-based school systems; and,
§ Convenes meetings and conferences to connect network partners, state leaders, school counselor educators and school counseling practitioners to share best practices, emerging work and cutting-edge research, and to champion the cause of school counselor reform and equity in education.