Counselors Know

Here's a good piece in HuffPo on the the role of school counselors.  I especially love their accolades for DC Prep, which is doing outstanding work for students in this city!  I'd push the author, Chavous, to think more about how counselors are used - with less emphasis on how many counselors we have.  He makes an accurate point that counselor-to-student ratios can be overwhelming (and as high as 1:800 in some places!), but the challenge is often more about defining the role - and goals - of counselors in a school.  Our research with the National Office of School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA) showed that school counselors endorse a systemic college and career readiness mission for their field -- and their administrators agree.  This means counselors could focus on things that are linked to getting kids to college (like academic and financial planning)  and spend less time on being the "jack-of-all-trades" in schools (doing things they're often overqualifed to do, like lunch monitoring).  Then, even with big ratios, they can spend their time building systems to support all students in becoming  college and career ready.  Counselors are hugely valuable resources in our education system, in almost every school across America.  We need to get serious about using them more strategically - especially in tight fiscal times.  The good news - the research shows counselors are clear about how they can contribute to the college-and-career ready mission.  And organizations like ASCA and NOSCA are providing resources for counselors to be ever-more effective.