High school years are full of growth, promise, excitement, frustration, disappointment and hope. It is the time when students begin to discover what the future holds for them. Secondary school counselors enhance the learning process and promote academic achievement. School counseling programs are essential for students to achieve optimal personal growth, acquire positive social skills and values, set appropriate career goals and realize full academic potential to become productive, contributing members of the world community. The professional high school counselor holds a master’s degree and required state certification in school counseling. Maintaining certification includes ongoing professional development to stay current with educational reform and challenges facing today’s students. Professional association membership is encouraged as it enhances the school counselor’s knowledge and effectiveness.

Today’s young people are living in an exciting time with an increasingly diverse and mobile society, new technologies, and expanding opportunities. To help ensure that they are prepared to become the next generation of parents, workers, leaders, and citizens, every student needs support, guidance, and opportunities during adolescence, a time of rapid growth and change. Adolescents face unique and diverse challenges, both personally and developmentally, that impact academic achievement.

Secondary School Students Developmental Needs

High school is the final transition into adulthood and the world of work as students begin separating from parents and exploring and defining their independence. Students are deciding who they are, what they do well, and what they will do when they graduate. During these adolescent years, students are evaluating their strengths, skills and abilities. The biggest influence is their peer group. They are searching for a place to belong and rely on peer acceptance and feedback. They face increased pressures regarding risk behaviors involving sex, alcohol and drugs while exploring the boundaries of more acceptable behavior and mature, meaningful relationships. They need guidance in making concrete and compounded decisions. They must deal with academic pressures as they face high-stakes testing, the challenges of college admissions, the scholarship and financial aid application process, and entrance into a competitive job market.

Meeting the Challenge

Secondary school counselors are professional educators with a mental health perspective who understand and respond to the challenges presented by today’s diverse student population. Secondary school counselors do not work in isolation; rather, they are integral to the total educational program. They provide proactive leadership that engages all stakeholders in the delivery of programs and services to help the student achieve success in school. Professional school counselors align and work with the school’s mission to support the academic achievement of all students as they prepare for the ever-changing world of the 21st century. This mission is accomplished through the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive, developmental, and systematic school-counseling program. The ASCA National Standards in the academic, career, and personal/social domains are the foundation for this work. The ASCA National Model: A Framework For School Counseling Programs, with its data-driven and results-based focus, serves as a guide for today’s school counselor who is uniquely trained to implement this program.

Secondary School Counselors Implement the Counseling Program by Providing:

Classroom Guidance
Academic skills support
Organizational, study and test-taking skills
Post-secondary planning and application process
Career planning
Education in understanding self and others
Coping strategies
Peer relationships and effective social skills
Communication, problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution and study skills
Career awareness and the world of work
Substance abuse education
Multicultural/diversity awareness

Individual Student Planning
Goal setting
Academic plans
Career plans
Problem solving
Education in understanding of self, including strengths and weaknesses
Transition plans

Responsive Services
Individual and small-group counseling
Individual/family/school crisis intervention
Peer facilitation
Consultation/collaboration
Referrals

System Support
Professional development
Consultation, collaboration and teaming
Program management and operation

Secondary School Counselors Collaborate . . . 

With Parents
Academic planning/support
Post-secondary planning
Scholarship/financial search process
School-to-parent communications
School-to-work transition programs
One-on-one parent conferencing
Referral process

With Students
Academic support services
Program planning
Peer education program
Peer mediation program
Crisis management
Transition programs

With Teachers
Portfolio development, providing recommendations and assisting students with the post-secondary application process
Classroom guidance lessons on post-secondary planning, study skills, career development, etc.
School-to-work transition programs
Academic support, learning style assessment and education to help students succeed academically
Classroom speakers
At-risk student identification and implementation of interventions to enhance success

With Administrators
School climate
Academic support interventions
Behavioral management plans
School-wide needs assessments
Data sharing
Student assistance team development

With Community
Job shadowing, worked-based learning, part-time jobs, etc.
Crisis interventions
Referrals
Career education


Source - American School Counselor Association