Welcome

Greetings & welcome to the Joshua ISD School Counseling Program Guide! This guide was built on the recommendation of the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs to inform stakeholders about the purpose & scope of the JISD school counseling program. 

This guide has various resources that explain the role of the school counselor at the state & local level. Though Joshua ISD stays in alignment with the recommendations of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in their execution of the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs, we do use additional resources to execute the guidance & recommendations in the Texas Model.  This guide also explains the program's mission, rationale, goals, curriculum & various other components of what it takes to execute a comprehensive school counseling program. 

Please check out each of the pages within this guide to learn more about the Joshua ISD School Counseling Comprehensive Program.

Program Mission

The Joshua ISD counseling team will guide, support, and empower all students to be resilient in a diverse environment and cultivate partnerships with all stakeholders. 

Program Definition

The Joshua ISD School Counselors, in partnership with JISD administration, staff, parents & community stakeholders, deliver a comprehensive counseling program consisting of guidance, individual planning, responsive services & systems support. 

The JISD comprehensive school counseling program is designed to intentionally guide students in the areas of education, college & career readiness, & personal/social development. The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling programs outlines four areas of competency for Texas students, which are embedded into the JISD guidance curriculum: 

• Intrapersonal Effectiveness

• Interpersonal Effectiveness

• Post-Secondary Planning & Career Readiness

• Personal Health & Safety

More information about JISD guidance curriculum can be found on the Texas Model Program Curriculum  webpage. 

The JISD comprehensive school counseling program also includes guidance in character education as outlined in Texas Administrative Code Chapter 120 in the following areas:

• Courage

• Trustworthiness

  • Honesty

  • Punctuality

  • Reliability

  • Loyalty

• Integrity

• Respect/Courtesy

• Responsibility

  • Accountability

  • Diligence

  • Perseverance 

  • Self Control

• Fairness

  • Justice

  • Freedom from Prejudice 

• Caring/Kindness

  • Empathy

  • Compassion

  • Consideration

  • Patience

  • Generosity

  • Charity

• Citizenship

  • Patriotism

  • Concern for common good/community

  • Respect for authority

• School Pride

• Gratitude

More information about Character Education can be found on the Character Education webpage.

While the primary audience of the JISD comprehensive counseling program is the students of JISD, the JISD counseling team does provide support to parents & staff, especially in the areas of post-secondary planning & safety. The JISD counseling team works collaboratively with various JISD departments & community stakeholders to deliver programming to students, parents & staff that is designed to help JISD students reach their full potential. 

Program Rationale

Joshua ISD recognizes the central role that school counselors play in general school programming as well as the benefits school counselors provide to students. School counselors are key in helping students recognize their strengths & are instrumental in guiding students in achieving their developmental potential. The school counseling comprehensive program exists to meet the needs of all JISD students & is grounded in research-based theory & ethical practices. 

Program Assumptions

In Joshua ISD, we share the following assumptions about a comprehensive school counseling program, in keeping with the Texas Model:

• Joshua ISD will provide each of the four delivery system components & employ certified school counselors.

• All students, parents, teachers & other recipients of school counseling program resources have equal access to the program regardless of their cultural background, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning ability level, native language, race, religious or spiritual preference, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. 

• Parents are partners with educators in the education of their child. The Joshua ISD Counseling Services department will form an advisory council that includes parent & community membership for the purpose of advising the Joshua ISD Counseling team about needs that should be addressed through the program.

• Joshua ISD will provide a setting for counselors that is characterized by adequate physical & attitudinal resources that allow counselors to make their unique contributions to the educational program of students.

• Joshua ISD school administrators understand & support the school counseling program's priorities and demands. 

Program Goals

In order to provide an environment that is conducive to educational excellence, Joshua ISD counselors will deliver guidance, provide individual and/or group counseling, deliver prevention education & practice student-centered interventions that:

• Allow students to experience academic success and develop a life-long love of learning

• Builds students who exhibit exceptional character through positive character traits and social emotional skills

• Creates opportunities for students to pursue post-secondary pathways of their choosing

In keeping with  the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs, each campus sets annual goals for their counseling programs that is data-driven & responsive to student needs.