Professional Development
With funding from the MetLife Foundation, The Education Trust implemented the National School Counselor Training Initiative (NSCTI) in February 2002. This effort has a very specific vision. School counselors are ideally situated in schools to serve as advocates to promote school-wide success for all groups of students.
When school counselors aggressively perform actions that support a quality education for all groups of students, they create a school climate where access and support for rigorous preparation is expected. In so doing, students who we have not served well in the past have a chance at acquiring the skills necessary to unconditionally participate in the 21st Century economy. These efforts move school counseling from the periphery of school business to a position front and center in constructing student success.
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Despite the crucial importance of making sure that all groups of students, but especially the most vulnerable, get the support and guidance they need to acquire a quality education, the function of school counselors has been ignored by most standards-based education reforms efforts. To date, these reform efforts have focused on setting more rigorous academic standards, building new assessment strategies, and restructuring pre- and in-service experiences for teachers and administrators.
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Indeed, student achievement is everybody’s business. In most states, however, only superintendents, teachers, and principals are included in the accountability system. This mistakenly signals many important players – including counselors, students, parents, and the community at large – that they do not have significant roles in education improvement.
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School counselors need to be a part of the accountability system as they are often in the best position to assess the school for systemic barriers that hinder academic success for all groups of students. Issues of equity, access and lack of supporting conditions for success come to rest at the counselor's desk in the form of data, files and reports of whole school and individual student progress or failure. Thus, school counselors are ideally positioned to use data to advocate for traditionally under-served students.
More specifically, counselors who serve their students as advocates and change agents ensure educational equity for all their students. They can do this by practicing in collaborative ways with other professionals in the school building to influence system-wide changes. These changes impact whole schools as well as individual students and can have a profound impact on student achievement if school counselors:
· Influence attitudes and beliefs regarding all groups of students’ abilities to achieve high standards;
· Improve access and success in rigorous academic courses for underrepresented students;
· Provide attention to equity, access, instructional programs and support services;
· Manage resources designed to improve the learning success for students experiencing difficulty with rigorous academic programs;
· Develop high aspirations in students rather than just attending to aspirations as they emerge; and
· Influence systemic change so that practices and procedures support student achievement for all groups of students.
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These professional development modules are closely aligned with the new ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs. The ASCA National Model provides the structure to implement a comprehensive approach to program foundation, delivery, management and accountability. The professional development modules provide the advocacy, leadership, collaboration, use of data and systemic change skills needed to implement the Model.
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The NCTSC certified consultants provide professional development workshops for practicing school counselors and administrators in school districts throughout the country. The primary goal of these workshops is to make the practice of school counseling essential to the mission of schools and education reform by equipping school counselors with the skills and knowledge necessary to help all groups of students meet high academic standards. School counselors working in this model help students gain access to a rigorous, quality education. This means working to eliminate the barriers to access and equity, and thereby addressing the social injustices obvious in today’s schools. The outcome of this initiative will be increased numbers of students, especially low-income students and students of color, attaining the academic preparation needed for access and success in a wide-range of post-secondary options including college matriculation.
The workshop series is designed to help school counselors connect to school reform, and become an integral part in creating an equitable education system. The training helps practicing school counselors acquire and apply skills in leadership, advocacy, teaming and collaboration, and use of data, all of which are directed toward systemic change designed to provide access and equity for all groups of students. Participants develop an action plan that they will implement in their building or district. Since it is known that school administrators and counselors need to work closely together to make this happen, it is recommended that school principals attend the first half-day of the training and return on the last day to hear the action plan that the counselors have developed. The NCTSC professional development workshop series focuses on:
1) Working as Leaders to Promote Access & Equity for All groups of students;
2) Using Data to Change Policy & Practice;
3) Advocacy for Systemic Change;
4) Taking Action to Help All groups of students Meet High Standards; and
5) Using Results to Drive Next Steps.
A cadre of certified Education Trust consultants is available to deliver the professional development modules in school districts across the country. For more information, please contact Peggy Hines at 202-293-1217 ext. 344 or 812-345-0942 (cell)
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