Blog 4

When we went over ASCA Model last Tuesday I was a little overwhelmed with all the different components of it.  There are so many different aspects of the comprehensive school counseling program that need to go into it to have a well put together program.  However after reading Dollarhide and Saginak’s (2012) explanation of what everything meant, everything just seemed to click together.  The different parts of foundations, delivery systems, accountability, and management systems all have its own unique parts that make the whole system work.  After all, the program should be holistic where everything compliments itself right?  I think ASCA did a really good job on making a system that all school counselors could go by when creating their programs. 

One of the parts that I would like to highlight is the data collection piece.  With school losing more and more of their budgets and laying people off, data collection is one of the most important things to keep school counselors in the school so that we can continue to help students.  The other parts of the model are equally important to school counselors, but as for the state and some administrators, school counselors need to produce the data needed to make others understand that what school counselors are doing is a good thing and it is needed within the schools.  I think the ASCA model is overwhelming as first, I think once you understand and get to know it, it will be very useful and can be used as a tool to guide school counselors in the right direction when creating programs.

Galassi, et al.’s (2008) article was what Dr. Garner calls an “and” in practice and theory.  They talk about the ASCA model and how it is useful, but there could be improvements to make it even greater.  This is what we call an “and.”  We say that because in addition to the ASCA Model, a school counselor can also use the strength based practices to increase the chances of helping out students.  With the knowledge of both models, a school counselor can use that information and create a great program for the students.  It is a lot of hard work, but it should be worth it to effectively help students out.  Galassi, et al.’s (2008) make good points in their article and will be useful in the futures of not only me but for my other classmates as well.

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2^nd Ed.). New York: Pearson

Galassi, J. P., Griffin, D., & Akos, P. (2008). Strengths-Based School Counseling and the ASCA National Model®. Professional School Counseling, 12, 176-181. doi:10.5330/PSC.n.2010-12.176