School Counseling - Term Paper Example

Running Head: School Counseling School Counseling of the of the School Counseling Part 1a In specific, the researcher has carried out critical analysis of different websites related to school counseling, and this paper now includes discussion of related concepts and personal perspective regarding the same. Particularly, school counseling, a vital constituent to students’ accomplishment is a ‘comprehensive program that helps students learn through personal/social development inside the school setting.’ In this regard, analysis of Columbia Public Schools’ website (CPS, 2011) indicated that professional school counselors have a smallest of a masters stage in school counseling. In alignment to help the development of all scholars, they have introduced a broad variety of therapeutic interventions in the form of a ‘comprehensive school improvement plan’ (CPS, 2011) encompassing school guidance on topics, for instance, parent involvement, high qualified staff, and governance that will enable the schools to improve their efficacy on a five-year planning. Besides Columbia, review of website of Massachusetts Department of Education (MDESE, 2011) identified their efforts on different aspects of counseling, such as disquiet administration, assembly and one-by-one counseling, vocation checking and designing, parent and educator discussion, and advocacy for schemes change. Research on this website showed that these services have been playing a critical role in advancing students’ learning success. In addition, the researcher further review the website of Michigan Department of Education (MDE, 2011), which indicated that this profession has become a significant theme in informative psychology because it encourages students’ learned, vocation, and personal/social accomplishment in the informative backgrounds of elementary, middle, and high schools. This website has detailed information on the application of school counseling by (a) reconsidering the annals of school counseling; (b) interpreting the American School Counseling Associations National Model for school counseling; and (c) recounting key constituents of a comprehensive school counseling program focusing on subjects such as assessment by offering different assessment procedures such as ‘ELPA (English Language Proficiency Assessment), MEAP-Access (alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement), etc’ (MDE, 2011). Another website included during the review was of the Education Trust (2011) that seems to be advocating the significance of school counseling in an efficient and interactive manner by components of Transforming School Counseling, such as “guidance curriculum, counseling, vocation development, conferring, coordination of assets, authority and advocacy, advancement of a protected and polite weather, responsibility, administration of lawful and ethical matters, and expert development” (Education Trust, 2011). Moreover, scrutiny of the Education Trust’s website pointed that this occupation has amplified and refocused over the 100 years to rendezvous the desires of scholars, they have evolved a kind of interventions. The four prime interventions encompass ‘counseling, large-group guidance, discussion, and coordination’ (Education Trust, 2011). Although counselors enlisted in this website for one-by-one counseling with scholars, it would be inefficient, if not unrealistic, for counselors to supply one-by-one counseling to large figures of students. Consequently, the same website (Education Trust, 2011) indicated that assembly methods have been evolved to rendezvous certain characterized scholar desires, for example, contending with end wedding ceremony, evolving an affirmative body likeness, or advancing communal skills. Moreover, the website has emphasized importance of large-group guidance, which boosts educators to incorporate guidance data into their living curricula, comes to an even larger number of students. In addition, consulting and collaborating with educators, managers, and families, furthermore, expands the scope to ensure students’ success that is one of the basic messages of the Education Trust website. Finallyֽ the last website that became the part of review was of West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE, 2011). Review indicated that this department has been coordinating a kind of other undertakings encompassing parent resource centers, learn and serve initiatives for students that seem to be advocating the notion of access and diversity, and introduction of Golden Horseshoe Test (WVDE, 2011) that is an efficient way of using the technology for designing, implementation, and evaluation of school wide happenings that aim on students’ developmental issues. Furthermore, they evolve programs that provide work schemes that intersect with scholars at their developmental grades, engage families and community assets, and aim on students strengths. Historically, school counselors have not been excels illustrating accountability, although, review of abovementioned websites has indicated that 21st-century school counselors aim on responsibility and on documenting their effectiveness with hard data. All facets of such programs at schools are relentlessly assessed in order that counselors can recognize power and flaws, and then make befitting changes to their programs. Today, counselors realize the significance of assembling and giving facts and number that connection the school counseling program with learned achievement. By displaying responsibility and the connection between school counseling and academics, they reinforce both their voice and their place as constituents of the school restructure movement. Part 1b Review of Georgia Department of Education (GDE, 2011) showed the conceptual understanding of school counseling that relies on a holistic developmental structure, endowing the school counselor to address the entire progeny and supply avoidance and intervention in both the learned and psychosocial realms. The website indicates addressing and incorporating of learned, vocation, and personal/social development initiatives that are enabling school counselors to conceive comprehensive, coordinated programs in counseling. In specific, GDE (2011)’s website indicates its efforts on issues such as ‘bullying prevention, drug-free schools, sex offender registration’ (GDE, 2011) that are playing a critical role in improving conditions of students. Besides GDE, review of another website indicated focus on students’ need. In specific, review of North Carolina’s public schools’ website (NCPS, 2011) indicates that counselors are advised to “reject untrue dichotomies in which assisting to learned development entails abandonment of personal/social or nurturing about individual matters entails disregarding systemic issues” (NCPS, 2011). Review of the website indicated its efforts in the form of ‘No Child Left Behind’ (NCPS, 2011) that is aiming exclusively on supplying counseling services for the entire district to resolve nonacademic obstacles by collaborating with community that will probably assist to characterize the future of the school occupation. Analysis of South Carolina’s website (SCDE, 2011) indicated that upon starting their work in a school, they perform school wide evaluations to work out the exclusive desires of their students. They then conceive school counseling curriculum and a developmental school wide program that complements the learned curriculum. In South Carolina (SCDE, 2011), school counselors address the learned, vocation, and personal–social desires of scholars in the developmental program. The developmental school counseling program encompasses all children: mean, sophisticated, at risk, and those with exceptional needs. Besides, website of Texas Education Agency (TEA, 2011) was another website that indicated its developmental school counseling programs that are supplying all scholars with knowledge that assist them augment and evolve through a full variety of undertakings and services to fulfill students’ needs encompassing ‘crisis intervention, suicide prevention, opportunities at high school level, referral, position, and follow-up’ (TEA, 2011). In addition, its developmental school counseling program focuses on (a) age-specific developmental phases of scholar development and (b) the desires, jobs, and scholar concerns associated to those stages. Last website under review was of Atlanta Public Schools (APS, 2011) that proposes that counselors spend forty percent of their time carrying out direct services with students and that they work with a student-to-counselor ratio of one school counselor to every 250 students. To apply their school counseling program, they work with all stakeholders who are affiliated with their school (APS, 2011). Stakeholders are scholars who join the school, mature individuals who have young children in the school, persons who work in the school, and persons in the surrounding humanity who may combine with the school. Part 2 Now the paper will include observations from website of the Maryland State Department of Education. In alignment to stabilize the altering aim of school counseling, the website showed that in 2003, the Maryland State (MSDE, 2011) evolved a nationwide form to supply reliable, comprehensive guidelines for school counseling programs and professional school counselors’ obligations that would encourage achievement for all scholars all through the country. In this regard, the Maryland State National Model (MSDE, 2011) carries the schools general objective by encouraging learned accomplishment, vocation designing and personal/social development (MSDE, 2011). It assists as a structure to direct states, localities and one-by-one schools in conceiving, evolving, applying and assessing a comprehensive, developmental and systematic school counseling program (Cohen & Fish, 2002). This set about to school counseling programs advantages scholars, parents, educators, managers, and the general community. It is an integral part of each students achievement, and it is systematically consigned to every scholar and is not just for high achievers or at-risk students. In specific, detailed review indicated that systematic consignment of the Maryland State National Model (MSDE, 2011) embraces four interrelated components: base, consignment scheme, administration schemes, and accountability. The base is created of (a) convictions and beliefs on which all staff agrees; and (b) an objective declaration that best features the programs reason, which aligns with the school and districts mission. The consignment scheme entails four procedures required to systematically consign the school counseling program to all students. The first procedure of the consignment scheme is guidance curriculum (MSDE, 2011). The curriculum comprises of organized school room courses that supply information and abilities at the befitting developmental grade for kindergarten through 12th-grade students. The second procedure is one-by-one scholar designing in which professional school counselors rendezvous with one-by-one scholars to assist them recognize goals and future plans. The third procedure is responsive services to rendezvous one-by-one students direct desires through counseling, discussion, referral, gaze mediation, or provision of information. The fourth procedure of the consignment scheme is schemes support by management and administration of the total counseling program according to the website (MSDE, 2011). The website further shows the administration scheme, the third constituent of the Maryland State National Model (MSDE, 2011) that integrates organizational methods to confirm the counseling program is aligned with the schools needs. ‘Agreements about the school counseling programs association and goals are discussed with school administrators’ (MSDE, 2011). An advisory assembly of scholars, parents, educators, counselors, managers, and community constituents is established to review counseling program outcomes and make recommendations that indicate the initiative of Maryland Department of Education to ensure transformation of school counselors to play a critical role in promoting social justice in the state. Furthermore, website of Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE, 2011) indicates its nationwide measures for scholar learned, vocation, and personal/social development summarize competencies that scholars will get or illustrate as an outcome of the school counseling program. Regarding learned development, scholars will (a) come by mind-set, information, and abilities for productive learning; (b) complete school with learned fundamental elements required for postsecondary options; and (c) realize the connection between academics and vocation as well as life in the community. Regarding vocation development, scholars will (a) come by abilities to enquire work choices and self in order that they can make acquainted vocation decisions (MSDE, 2011); (b) utilize schemes to accomplish future vocation goals with achievement and satisfaction; and (c) realize the connection between individual characteristics, learning, teaching, and vocation options (MSDE, 2011). Regarding individual communal development, scholars will (a) come by information, mind-set, and abilities to realize and esteem self and others; (b) discover to make conclusions and set up and accomplish goals; and (c) evolve security and survival skills (MSDE, 2011). Professional school counselors should double-check that their programs assist scholars complete each of these competencies. Lastly, researcher analyzed data of Montgomery County on the MSDE’s website that indicated the trend of school counseling, which showed that the County has not been able to meet the improvement requirements of school counseling by 100%; however, the data shows achievements of approximately 80-90% of the target that indicates the efficiency of school counseling initiatives in Maryland. References APS. (2011). The Atlanta Public Schools. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/atlantaps/site/default.asp CPS. (2011). Columbia Public Schools. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.columbia.k12.mo.us/ Education Trust. (2011). The Education Trust. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.edtrust.org/ GDE. (2011). Georgia Department of Education. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ MDE. (2011). Michigan Department of Education. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.michigan.gov/mde MDESE. (2011). Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.doe.mass.edu/ MSDE. (2011). the Maryland State Department of Education. Retrieved on February 13, 2011 from (http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE) NCPS. (2011). Public Schools of North Carolina. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ SCDE. (2011). South Carolina State Department of Education. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://ed.sc.gov/ TEA. (2011). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ WVDE. (2011). West Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved on February 14, 2011: http://wvde.state.wv.us/ Read More