Having a Comprehensive School Counseling Plan is a wonderful way to advocate for your program and now it is part of our standards in Ohio. Ohio's standards devote Standard 1 to creating a comprehensive plan. "School counselors collaboratively envision a plan for a comprehensive school counseling program that is developmental, preventative and responsive, and in alignment with the school’s goals and mission." (See Ohio Standards here).  Although it may be overwhelming, completing this process will only make you grow as a counselor! Whether you decide to try for RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) or not, using these resources will ensure that you have a comprehensive plan.  

So now what? ASCA provides the school counseling national model which is a framework to do just that!  Although creating this comprehensive plan may be time consuming and difficult, in the long run, it will be the best thing that you can do for you, your students, and your school.  Furthermore, many school counselors find that they have many of the necessary pieces of the national model and they are able to make a few changes and several additions that enhance the great work that they are already doing.  ASCA Position Statement 

Below are lots of great resources from American School Counseling Association (ASCA), so click the links below to learn more information:

That might seem overwhelming, so where do I start????  Where to begin:

CREATE A SCHOOL COUNSELOR ADVISORY COUNCIL:  This committee is a representative group of stakeholders (e.g. parent, staff, community, administration, students, etc.) who provide input on your program.  They review and provide feedback for all of your program's components, initiatives, plan.

START WITH A VISION STATEMENT AND A MISSION STATEMENT:  These provide your program focus. You should create a vision statement that looks at your student's future outcomes. How are they going to grow?  What are they going to achieve?  In addition, you will create a mission statement that aligns with your district's mission and then you will develop goals that show how you will measure the vision and mission. 

NEXT DEFINE PROGRAM GOALS:  While we have many goals that we want to accomplish throughout the school year, it is important to have overarching program goals (2-3) that focus on achievement, attendance and/or behavior.  These should be written in SMART format: specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, time-bound.