In the United States, school counselors provide academic, career and college preparation, and personal and social competencies to children and adolescents in elementary school, high school, and schools through grade 12 (referred to as K-12). Ideally, they are master's level educators with a background in ethics, helping relationships, counseling theories, group work, multicultural counseling, human development, college and career readiness counseling, assessment, and research. In addition, they have at least 100 hours of practice and a 600-hour internship in K-12 schools, and a national certification or license to practice the profession. They are dedicated to helping all students achieve academic, career, and college readiness and achieve their personal or social dreams. To this end, they provide program-included classroom counseling lessons and academic, career, and college preparation, and personal and social planning to each student on an annual basis, and offer group and individual counseling for some students.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Understand the Role of a School Counselor
Step 1. Understand what the position entails
The role of a school counselor is to help children and adolescents succeed in school by developing their academic, career, and college readiness, and personal and social competencies. They encourage students to develop their interests and support their learning, professional, college, personal and social needs, and the development of their skills. Your responsibilities include:
- They know, affirm and support each student in their number of cases, controlling their academic, professional and university preparation, and the development of personal or social competencies through individual planning, the main lessons of the school counseling program, and through of counseling. They closely monitor grades, ensure access to the strongest curriculum possible, work to reduce incidents of behavior, increase attendance, reduce delays, and ensure appropriate support for academic success, career and college readiness.
- They ensure that every student takes rigorous classes and earns the credits necessary to graduate from school.
- They talk with each student about potential career paths and specific skills for college readiness (the eight NOSCA components of college and career counseling: Aspirations, Academic Planning, Extracurricular Enrichment and Participation, College and Career Selection and Exploration, Planning Affordable College Study, Assessment, and Transition from High School to College). You can download these resources and others for free on the NOSCA website:
- They ensure that all students obtain the required courses they need to attend some form of post-secondary education upon graduation, including two- to four-year colleges and vocational and technical schools.
Step 2. Implement and evaluate the school counseling program through four components:
- Foundation (mission, vision, goals, ethics), delivery (core classes of school counseling curriculum, planning, group and individual counseling), management (administration agreement, use of data, small group action plans and reports of Outcomes, School Counseling Program Action Plans and Outcome Reports, Achievement Gap and Opportunity Closing Action Plans and Outcome Reports, School Counseling Program Advisory Council), Accountability (program evaluation, school counselor assessment) (ASCA Model, Hatch & Bowers, 2002, ASCA, 2012).
- Give students and other stakeholders specific tools to ensure school safety and end bullying, harassment, and other issues of violence that prevent all students from learning successfully.
- Culturally competent advocacy, leadership, counseling and coordination, teamwork and collaboration, equity assessment through systemic changes and data with all stakeholders.
- Provide college and career fairs, multicultural awareness assemblies, and health education information sessions.
- Helping children or teens work toward their dreams can be incredibly rewarding, and many students continue to stay in contact with their school counselors after graduation.
- School counselors have summers and holidays off since they work as part of the school system.
Step 3. Evaluate if you have the appropriate traits to be a school counselor
School counselors are passionate about helping each student achieve their academic, college, or career readiness and achieve their personal and social goals. They spend their days in the classroom teaching, counseling and planning sessions with all students, and offering group and individual counseling to some students, as well as teaming up and collaborating with all interested adults, using data to ensure that they can demonstrate how it is that all students have improved based on their interventions.
School counselors need to be patient, trustworthy, ethical, able to maintain confidentiality, and know and share exceptions to it (danger to themselves or others, court summons, etc.), be able to handle data and use evidence-based practices, and focus on equity to ensure that all students have access to their academic, professional and college preparation, and personal and social competencies
Method 2 of 3: Obtain the required education and appropriate certification
Step 1. Understand that a master's degree in counseling education or school counseling with 48 to 60 credits is required
CACREP is the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, and you can find the approved programs on its website: www.cacrep.org.
Step 2. Get your certification
All states in the United States require school counselors to obtain state certification. You can also get a national certification through the NBCC or NBPTS. Contact your state department of education to find out what credentials you need to work in your state. The American Association of School Counselors (ASCA) also has information about each state's requirements for school counselors.
Step 3. Maintain your membership in college counseling and career school organizations at the national and state levels
These are ASCA and NACAC, and their state headquarters for research literature, evidence-based practice, annual conferences, and regular electronic and written communications and professional development opportunities. The American Association of School Counselors (ASCA) has a website at www.schoolcounselor.org, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has a their website at www.nacacnet.org.
Step 4. Stay connected to the best free professional development resources for school counselors in the field
You can do this through the National School Counselors Advocacy Office (sign up for your free “Own the Turf Kit” packet at https://nosca.collegeboard.org), the National Center for School Outcomes Research and Evaluation. School Counseling (CSCORE at www.cscore.org) and the Center for Excellence in School Counseling and Leadership (CESCAL), including a free builder program with flash support for the development of school counseling programs.
Method 3 of 3: Find a Job as a School Counselor
Step 1. Create a network of contacts
Often times, it's not so much about how good you are at getting jobs, but about the connections you have and being in the right time and place. Contact your professors and people you have worked with during your internships and internships to inquire about job opportunities.
Step 2. Sign up for regular communications from the career center at your college to find out when local districts offer job or job fairs
Step 3. Research job opportunities at international schools abroad
Some international schools provide students with diplomas based on US curricula and the ASCA model or national standards, and these schools hire school counselors to advise students.
Step 4. Check out the education job postings and Craigslist
School counseling positions are often listed with other education-related positions on job posting sites in schools. The competition for school counseling jobs can be tough in major metropolitan areas, so do some deep research and make sure you do your best at every interview. You can also move to a rural area where the competition is not as tough.
Step 5. Meet various leaders by training, given that they have your profession in their hands in terms of hiring
Advice
- School counselors find positions in college access counseling, student affairs counseling, and career counseling. Those eligible for a mental health license work with social service providers and agencies.
- Remember that schools generally hire staff between August and September. While other opportunities may present themselves during the school year, your chances of getting a job as a school counselor decrease after school starts.