Comprehensive School Counseling Program
ADVOCACY - LEADERSHIP - COLLABORATION - SYSTEMIC CHANGE
Mission Statement
All students at Clark Elementary School will experience a comprehensive school counseling program aligned with the ASCA national model, which is data-driven and built on evidence-based best practices. The program will facilitate student development in the social/emotional, academic, and career domains. It is preventative in design and collaborative by nature. The school counselor will collaborate with students, families, community members, and other educators. The school counselor will be an advocate and resource for students, staff, and families, while promoting equity and access for all students.
School Counselor Roles and Responsibilities
My goal is to develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive school counseling program designed to meet the needs of ALL students. Issaquah schools provide counseling services in each school K-12. All students have access to participate in the school counseling program. The counselor teaches lessons in all classes and works with all students at Clark.
School Counselors focus on three developmental domains
School Counselors work to help close opportunity gaps utilizing the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework
A framework for enhancing the adoption and implementation of a continuum of evidence-based practices to achieve important outcomes for all students.
What Is A Comprehensive School Counseling Program?
A comprehensive school counseling program is, ultimately, an essential part of any K-12 educational program. The model encourages school counselors to focus on student, family and community needs and to use data to identify and meet these needs, as well as to document program effectiveness. The framework focuses on four core elements-- foundation, delivery, management, and accountability, and four themes-- leadership, advocacy, systemic change, and collaboration (Erford, 2011).
Why Do We Need Comprehensive School Counseling Programs?
"This model, adapted by the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), is responsible for supporting student educational performance and forms the foundation for career and personal/social development.Comprehensive school counseling programs have been effectively addressing developmental and prevention needs for several decades" (Erford, 2011).
How Do We Build A Comprehensive School Counseling Program?
The American School Counselor Association has created a framework to building a comprehensive school counseling program. School Counselors with education from accredited School Counseling graduate programs are trained to create programs that model the ASCA framework. The framework is a set of adaptable guidelines which the School Counselor uses to create a unique program specific to the needs of their students and community.
The Washington State Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling framework was created to support school counselors in Washington State to build comprehensive programs consistent with the ASCA National Model.
The Professional Educator Standards Board has created program approval standards in the state of Washington. Click here for more information on those standards: