1. What were the initial thoughts and feelings that came up as you read the chapter?
The title of this chapter reads “Today’s Professional School Counselor Does Make a Difference” I was
drawn to the term “professional. “School counselor are not often called professionals. This could be due
to school counseling field not having guidelines for some time. The text states “The American School
Counselors Association provides clear ethical guidelines (2010b), using the title “professional school
counselors” throughout the document. One of the ethical responsibilities of professional school
counselors …is to belong to their professional association; others include to implement, evaluate, and
share results of their school counseling programs.” Stakeholders, school staff and building leaders see
counseling positions as an extra set of hands. School counselors are not often considered as
professionals.
2. How does this relate to your experience at your practicum site?
The implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program shows “theories in action,” the text
states “when a program is implemented, it tests the theory to learn what might cause change.” My site
implemented a SEL program by instilling social-emotional competence is a core mission. The students
are learning factors shaping academic behaviors, academic perseverance, academic mindsets, learning
strategies, and social skills. Teaching these skills openly over four years ensures students can internalize
these ideas and use them throughout their lives to achieve success. The results of this program at my
site has reduces suspension rates and ninth graders credit accumulation. In order for programs to be
implemented I would agree in testing the implementation to ensure the “ASK” which contributes to the
students’ behavior change, contributing to improvements in achievement-related data, which then
impact achievement data.
3. What was your most powerful learning?
School counselors play a vital role in program implementation. Assessing program data results in
discovering different stakeholders have different opinions, information, and understandings of how
programs are supposed to work and whether the programs do, in fact, work. Its important to be the
thought leadership in your field, as the expert school counselors can advocate for their profession needs
and this will be of tremendous benefit for the students and school.
4. What would you like to learn more about concerning this topic?
How to pitch program implementation to stakeholders and staff?