Blog 12 - Nakia Eckert

The first thing I wanted to mention was how great it was to hear from some practicing School Counselors. They offered really interesting insights into their daily lives and both reaffirmed for me what it is I want to do and why we need to take this profession seriously. They also seemed to reiterate that, yes, we will be doing things we do not necessarily want to do (i.e. proctoring SAT’s) but that we can involve ourselves in areas that we feel passionate about (i.e. Crisis intervention teams). I am excited to hear from more people practicing in the field.

Since I am working in the high school group this semester, I will focus on the chapter’s section pertaining to the ASCA National Model in the High School. A few things under Wakefield High School’s Management System that I found interesting were the Agreements, Counselor Availability, and Advisory Council. I thought it was great that they had in writing that each year the Counselors would work “with the principal each year to create a Wakefield High School Counselor/Administrator Agreement” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 225). I think this is an excellent way to foster a supportive and mutually beneficial relationship so that all parties involved are on the same page with expectations and responsibilities. Then each year the agreements can be updated to tweak anything that did not work the previous year. I was surprised to see that the Counselors are only available until 3:30pm (with some staggered hours one month out of the school year). What about the parents who work full time? I think that there should be a Counselor on duty until 6pm at least once a week to be available for the parents that cannot make it in to see them during school hours. These hours perpetuate the stereotype of School Counselors as not doing anything and parents should not have to miss work to speak to a Counselor. Lastly, I believe that community members should be an addition to the Advisory Council, especially community members that tend to hire high school students and graduates from the district. They will have the greatest insight into the strengths and weaknesses that the students bring to the job.

I also enjoyed reviewing the high school’s CSCP Activity time line and found all of the activities well placed according to deadlines and priorities. For example, the financial aid night is January, February, March which is perfect to help student’s get their FAFSA’s done before universities’ deadlines. I would like to see a Junior college planning night in April, May, or June so that the college process is started as early as possible.

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