The ASCA National Model

1 School counseling programs are collaborative effortsbenefiting students, parents, teachers, administratorsand the overall community. School counselingprograms should be an integral part of students dailyeducational environment, and school counselorsshould be partners in student achievement. Unfortunately,school counseling has lacked a consistent identity from stateto state, district to district and even school to school. This hasled to a misunderstanding of what school counseling is andwhat it can do for a school.

2 As a result, school counselingprograms are often viewed as ancillary programs instead of a crucial component to student achievement, and schoolcounselors have not been used to their fullest. The question has often been posed, What do schoolcounselors do? The more important question is, How arestudents different becauseof what school counselors do? To help answer this question, the American SchoolCounselor Association (ASCA) created The ASCA NationalModel: A Framework for School Counseling Programs. Byimplementing a school counseling program based on theASCA National Model , schools and school districts can: Establish the school counseling program as an integralcomponent of the academic mission of the school.

3 Ensure every student has equitable access to the schoolcounseling program. Identify and deliver the knowledge and skills all studentsshould acquire. Ensure that the school counseling program iscomprehensive in design and is delivered systematically toall ASCA National ModelA Framework For School Counseling ProgramsExecutive Summary The ASCA National Model supportsthe school s overall mission bypromoting academic achievement,career planning and personal/social development . It serves as aframework to guide states, districtsand individual schools in designing,developing, implementing andevaluating a comprehensive,developmental and systematic schoolcounseling ASCA National Model con-sists of four interrelated compo-nents: foundation, delivery system,management systems and account-ability.

4 The first component, foun-dation, dictates how the programis managed and delivered, which inturn, leads to the accountability ofthe program. The informationgathered through the accountabili-ty process should refine and revisethe foundation. Infused through-out the program are the qualitiesof leadership, advocacy and collab-oration, which lead to , many schoolcounselors spent much of their timeresponding to the needs of a smallpercentage of students, typicallythose who were high achievers orwho were high risk. ASCA s NationalModel outlines a program allowingschool counselors to direct servicesto every educators who are speciallytrained in childhood and adolescentdevelopment, school counselors cantake a leadership role in effectingsystemic change in a school.

5 However,a successful school counselingprogram is a collaboration of parents,students, school counselors,administrators, teachers, studentservices personnel and support staffworking together for the benefit ofevery student. The ASCA National Model : AFramework for School CounselingPrograms keeps the development ofthe total student at the forefront ofthe education movement and formsthe needed bridge betweencounseling and any solid structure, a schoolcounseling program is built on a strongfoundation. Based on the school s goalsfor student achievement, what everystudent should know and should beable to do, the foundation determineshow every student will benefit fromthe school counseling and Philosophy Thephilosophy is a set of principles guidingthe program development , implement-ation and evaluation.

6 All personnelinvolved in managing and implementingthe program should reach consensuson each belief or guiding principalcontained in the philosophy. Mission A mission statementdescribes the program s purpose andgoals. A school counseling programmission statement aligns with and isa subset of the school and district on the core beliefs, philosophiesand missions identified in thefoundation, the delivery systemdescribes the activities, interactions andmethods necessary to deliver Curriculum The guidancecurriculum consists of structureddevelopmental lessons designed toassist students in achieving the desiredcompetencies and to provide allstudents with the knowledge andskills appropriate for their develop-mental level.

7 The guidance curriculumis infused throughout the school soverall curriculum and is presentedsystematically through K-12 classroomand group activities. Individual Student Planning School counselors coordinate ongoingsystematic activities designed to assiststudents individually in establishingpersonal goals and developing futureplans. Responsive Services Responsiveservices, which are the traditionalduties of a school counselor, consist ofactivities meeting individual students immediate needs, usually necessitatedby life events or situations andconditions in the students needs require counseling,consultation, referral, peer mediationor information.

8 Systems Support Like anyorganized activity, a school counselingprogram requires administration andmanagement to establish, maintainand enhance the total counselingprogram. Intertwined with the delivery system isthe management system, whichincorporates organizational processesand tools to ensure the program isorganized, concrete, clearly delineatedand reflective of the school s is a relatively new concept foradministrators and school counselorswho traditionally have not viewedcounselors as managers. Agreements Managementagreements ensure effectiveimplementation of the delivery systemto meet students needs.

9 Theseagreements, which address how theschool counseling program isorganized and what will beaccomplished, should be negotiatedwith and approved by designatedadministrators at the beginning ofeach school year. Advisory Council An advisorycouncil is a group of people appointedto review counseling program resultsand to make , parents, teachers, counselors,administration and communitymembers should be represented on the of Data A comprehensiveschool counseling program is datadriven. The use of data to effectchange within the school system isintegral to ensuring every studentreceives the benefits of the schoolcounseling program.

10 School counselorsmust show that each activityimplemented as part of the programDelivery SystemManagement SystemFoundationAmerican School Counselor Association 1101 King St., Suite 625 Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 683-ASCA Fax: (703) 683-1619was developed from a careful analysisof students needs, achievement and/orrelated data. Action Plans For every desiredcompetency and result, there must bea plan outlining how the desired resultwill be achieved. Each plan contains: (1) competencies addressed(2) description of the activity(3) data driving the decision toaddress the competency(4) timeline in which activity is to be completed(5) who is responsible for delivery (6) means of evaluating student success(7) expected results for students Use of Time ASCA s National Modelrecommends that school counselorsspend 80 percent of their time in directservice (contact)