How to Celebrate National School Counseling Week in
Your School
According to the American School Counselor Association website, school counselors play principal roles in school districts, enabling students to solve issues they face at home or in the classroom.
National School Counseling Week celebrates way counselors contribute to and inspire U.S. school systems.
When is National School Counseling Week in 2020?
In 2020, National School Counseling Week will be February celebrated 3-7.
What is National School Counseling Week, and why do we observe it?
The ASCA website indicates that National School Counseling Week “highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.”
Why should we praise school counselors?
School counselors play an essential role in helping students face numerous challenges. In Pasadena Now, Alvin Nash, President of United Teachers of Pasadena, said counselors allow K-12 students to recognize their own strengths; work with parents to help them rise above obstacles in raising their children; and inspire educators to have their students set healthy, positive goals.
What does a school counselor do?
Counselors are licensed educators who address students’ academic, career, and social/emotional development needs “by designing, implementing, evaluating, and enhancing a comprehensive school counseling program that promotes and enhances student success,” according to ASCA. They can work in elementary, middle, or high schools or in district supervisory roles.
Specifically, school counselors can benefit students of color and low-income students. Research connects high student-to-counselor ratios in low-income schools with better outcomes, including improved attendance, fewer disciplinary incidents, and higher graduation rates.
The need for school counselors has also been a contested issue amid teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Amid the teachers’ union’s demands are more nurses, librarians, and academic counselors in understaffed schools or those who don’t have employees to fill these positions at all. The ASCA states that the average student-to-counselor ratio is 464 to 1, though the organization recommends that schools maintain a 250-to-1 ratio.
What can I do to honor school counselors?
For starters, you can encourage your students to thank their school counselors when they see them in the hallway or when they visit their office. Teachers can also decorate their doors with signs expressing gratitude for the work school counselors do and the difference they make in students’ lives.