feature
CHANGING FOCUS
Mississippi school counselors find their role in education changing to emphasize involvement with students. by Michelle Taylor TRUE OR FALSE:
? ? ?
Counselors work with special education students only.
?
Counselors are test coordinators. Counselors are to help with disciplining a student. If you answered false to these questions, you very likely have a fundamental understanding of what a counselor contributes to the school system. However, changes to Mississippi law have created new expectations for the counselor in today’s education system.
Senate Bill 2423
With the adoption of Senate Bill 2423 in the 2014 Regular Session by the Mississippi legislature, counselor expectations and responsibilities changed. This legislation requires that a counselor spend a minimum of 80% of the contractual time providing services to students as defined by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). The law states, “Delivery of services is the direct service provided to students, parents, school staff, and the community which are interactions between professional school counselors and students.” ASCA is a national organization that assists counselors with supporting student success by closing “the achievement, college going, and 26 CONNECTIONS Fall 2014
advanced placement” gaps. This includes working with “at-risk” students. Counselors aid students with efforts on academic, personal, social, and career readiness needs in school. The purpose of these efforts is to help students become part of the workforce, become responsible members of society, and lead fulfilling lives as adults. The ASCA model is a framework designed to assist in developing comprehensive school counseling programs so that students become a key focus. Counselors help students overcome learning barriers and aid all students in receiving a rigorous education. School counseling programs are data-driven and have a results-oriented design; therefore, school counselors are expected to collaborate with all school personnel, students, parents, and the community. To help counselors meet the demands of stakeholders, ASCA recommends a counselor-to-student ratio of 1:250. Lisa Lann, counselor at Clinton Public Schools, described her role as a counselor, saying, “The Student Service Coordinator and I work very closely together. We work side by side as we meet students where they are and assist and encourage them as they grow academically, personally and socially. Our goal is for the student to be prepared for the opportunities that are available for them after high school, whether it be college or career.”
Implications for CTE Counselors
Senate Bill 2423 and the ASCA
model have facilitated two large changes for Mississippi CTE counselors: a new CTE counselor handbook and a new counselor evaluation rubric, both of which are aligned to the ASCA model and standards. While the changes may appear overwhelming, the new handbook and standards do not mean starting over for the dedicated counselor. Lann provided insight into how she approaches the program of work: “I have taken each individual competency in the program of work and listed strategies that I currently use that fit under that competency. Many of these strategies carry over from year to year, but as my counseling program continues to change to meet the everchanging needs of today’s students, some strategies become obsolete and are deleted, and new strategies are created and added. The program of work is never ‘finished’ or ‘complete’; it changes yearly and is an ongoing program.”
Counselor Handbook
The program of work for CTE counselors can be found in the 2014 edition of the Mississippi Career Technical Education Counselor Handbook. The new handbook outlines a counselor’s duties for the school year and provides suggested strategies in addition to reasoning and resources for each standard. Topics covered in the manual include counseling services, program accountability, professional development, recruitment, community and parent involvement, emergency-