The demands of twenty-first-century education dictate new roles for school counselors. Schools need professional school counselors who are adept at creating systems for change and at building relationships within the school community. Professional School Counselors create nurturing relationships with students that enhance academic achievement and personal success as globally productive citizens in the twenty-first century. Utilizing leadership, advocacy, and collaboration, professional school counselors promote academic achievement and personal success by implementing a comprehensive school counseling program that encompasses areas of academic, career, and personal/social development for all students.
Duties and Responsibilities
School counselors work collaboratively with all school staff to create a positive learning community. School counselors take an active role in analyzing local, state, and national data to develop and enhance school counseling programs. School counselors create data-driven goals and strategies that align with the school improvement plan to improve student learning. School counselors annually discuss the comprehensive school counseling program with the school administrator. School counselors provide input in the selection of professional development for the school staff that meets the needs of students and choose professional development activities that foster their own professional growth. School counselors mentor and support colleagues to improve the academic success of students.
School counselors strive to improve the counseling profession by staying current in research and best practices. School counselors promote professional growth for all educators and collaborate with their colleagues to improve the profession.
School counselors promote awareness of and responsiveness to learning styles, cultural diversity, and individual learning needs. School counselors collaborate with staff in building relationships with students that have a positive impact on student achievement. School counselors participate in the implementation of initiatives to improve the education and development of all students.
School Counselors demonstrate ethical behaviors.
School counselors create an environment that is inviting, respectful, supportive, inclusive, and flexible. School counselors model and teach behaviors that lead to positive and nurturing relationships through developmentally appropriate and prevention-oriented activities.
School counselors collaborate with teachers to ensure that the presentation of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study is relevant to a diverse student population. School counselors actively select materials and develop activities that counteract stereotypes and incorporate histories and contributions of diverse cultures. School counselors recognize the influence of culture on a child’s development and personality. School counselors help others understand how a student’s culture, language, and background may influence school performance and consider these influences in the programs and services they provide.
School counselors maintain high expectations, including graduation from high school, for students of all backgrounds.
Counselors collaborate with school and community personnel to help meet their needs. School counselors identify these needs using data, referrals, observation, and other sources of information. School counselors collaborate with others to create a customized plan of action that provides follow-up services to meet students’ varied needs.
School counselors improve communication and collaboration among the school, home, and community in order to promote and build trust, understanding, and partnerships with all segments of the school community. School counselors seek solutions to overcome barriers that may stand in the way of effective family and community involvement in the education of students.
In order to support the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, school counselors align content standards and implement program models developed by professional organizations in school counseling. School counselors support equity and access to rigorous and relevant curricula for all students. School counselors develop and apply strategies to enhance student success.
School counselors address the academic, career, and personal/social development of all students.
School counselors support the mission and goals of the school and district by providing technical assistance to all curricula areas as they align components of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study to their content areas/disciplines. School counselors support teachers and other specialists’ use of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study to develop and enhance students’ twenty-first-century skills and promote global awareness.
School counselors use data to develop comprehensive programs that meet student needs. School counselors deliberately, strategically, and broadly incorporate into their programs the life skills that students need to be successful in the twenty-first century. These skills span the academic, personal/social, and career domains and include leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal responsibility, people skills, self-direction, and social responsibility.
School counselors provide resources to staff to enhance student strengths and address student weaknesses.
School counselors use academic, behavioral, and attendance data to plan appropriate programs for students. School counselors discuss the comprehensive school counseling program with school administrators and communicate the goals of the program to stakeholders. School counselors consult and collaborate with colleagues, parents/guardians, and other stakeholders to ensure that students’ needs are addressed. School counselors make their programs responsive to cultural diversity and student needs.
School counselors employ technology as appropriate to enhance the delivery of their programs.
School counselors assist all students with developing academic, career, and personal/social skills. School counselors help students utilize sound reasoning, understand connections, and make complex choices. School counselors help students learn problem-solving techniques that incorporate critical thinking skills such as identifying problems, recognizing options, weighing evidence, and evaluating consequences. School counselors encourage students to use these skills to make healthy and responsible choices in their everyday lives.
School counselors listen responsively to students, colleagues, parents/guardians, and other stakeholders in order to identify issues and barriers that impede student success. School counselors use a variety of methods to communicate effectively in support of the academic, career, and personal/social development of all students. School counselors assist students in developing effective listening and communication skills in order to enhance academic success, build positive relationships, resolve conflicts, advocate for themselves, and become responsible twenty-first-century citizens.
School counselors think systematically and critically about the impact of the comprehensive school counseling program on student academic, career, and personal/social development. School counselors analyze student achievement, behavior, and school climate data, as well as feedback from students, parents, and other stakeholders to continually develop their program. School counselors evaluate the effectiveness of their program based on these data.
School counselors participate in continued, high-quality professional development that reflects a global view of educational practices, includes twenty-first-century skills and knowledge, aligns with the State Board of Education priorities, and meets the needs of students and their own professional growth.
School counselors actively investigate and consider new ideas that improve student academic, career, and personal/social development as well as the school counseling profession. School counselors collaborate with students, staff, parents, and other stakeholders to implement these ideas.
School counselors administer and interpret tests within the testing program.
School counselors perform other related work as required.
Minimum Training and Experience
Certification as a School Counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
In order to deliver a comprehensive school counseling program, the professional school counselor should understand and be competent in the following areas: human growth and development, core components for helping relationships, cultural diversity, societal change and trends, student learning and academic success, evaluation of student needs, group and individual counseling techniques, career development, use of data, use of technology, leadership, advocacy, systemic change, legal/ethical guidelines, collaboration with internal/external stakeholders, research/program evaluation, and interaction with educational professionals.
Disclaimer: The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees in this job.
