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. 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?

2 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. 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.

3 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. 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.

4 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. 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.

5 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. 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.

6 Agreements Managementagreements ensure effectiveimplementation of the delivery systemto meet students needs. 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. School counselorsmust show that each activityimplemented as part of the programDelivery SystemManagement SystemFoundationAmerican School Counselor Association 1101 King St.

7 , 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) with students andprovides a guide to school counselorsand administrators for determining theamount of time their program shoulddevote to each of the four compo-nents of the delivery system.

8 Becauseresources are limited, school counselors time should be protected; duties needtobe limited to program delivery anddirect counseling services, and non-counseling activities should be re-assigned whenever possible. Use of Calendars Once schoolcounselors determine the amount oftime necessary in each area of thedelivery system, they should developand publish master and weeklycalendars to keep students, parents,teachers and administratorsinformed. This assists in planning andensures active participation bystakeholders in the program. School counselors and administratorsare increasingly challenged to demon-strate the effectiveness of the schoolcounseling program in measurableterms. To evaluate the program and tohold it accountable, school counselorsmust collect and use data that link theprogram to student Reports Results reports,which include process, perception andresults data, ensure programs arecarried out, analyzed for effectivenessand modified as needed.

9 Sharing thesereports with stakeholders serves toadvocate for the students and theprogram. Immediate, intermediate andlong-range results are collected andanalyzed for program improvement. School Counselor PerformanceStandards The school counselor sperformance evaluation contains basicstandards of practice expected ofschool counselors implementing aschool counseling program. Theseperformance standards should serve asboth a basis for counselor evaluationand as a means for counselor self-evaluation. Program Audit The primary purposefor collecting information is to guidefuture action within the program andto improve future results for students. ASCA National Standardsfor Student Academic,Career and Personal/SocialDevelopmentASCA s National Standards outlinecompetencies that are the founda-tion for ASCA s National competencies define theknowledge, attitudes or skills stu-dents should obtain or demonstrateas a result of participating in aschool counseling will acquire the attitudes,knowledge and skills contributingto effective learning in school andacross the Students will complete school withthe academic preparation essentialto choose from a wide range ofsubstantial post-secondary options.

10 Including Students will understand therelationship of academics to theworld of work and to life at homeand in the will acquire the skills toinvestigate the world of work inrelation to knowledge of self andto make informed Students will employ strategies toachieve future career goals withsuccess and Students will understand therelationship between personalqualities, education, training andthe world of Social will acquire theknowledge, attitudes andinterpersonal skills to help themunderstand and respect self will make decisions, setgoals and take necessary action toachieve Students will understand safetyand survival CounselorResponsibilitiesSchool counselors have many duties andresponsibilities related to designing andimplementing a comprehensive schoolcounseling program. Therefore,programs should free school counselorsto do what they do best and what onlythey can do.