Alyssa Kirk

EDCEP857
Activity E:
School Counseling Program Philosophy
April 18, 2016

My Philosophy of School Counseling Programs

My philosophy of school counseling program integrates the use of a comprehensive,
developmental program for all students. I feel that it is extremely important to be proactive rather
than reactive to situations which impact individuals in the school, to focus on the impact on the
students while looking at collected data, and being a leader in the school system. Professional
school counselors are a vital role in advocating for student success, equity and access to rigorous
program experiences for all. Through the use of leadership, advocacy, and collaboration the
school counselor should be able to provide a safe learning environment for all members of the
school, as well as, community by being culturally aware and providing preventative,
interventions as part of the comprehensive developmental program.
School counselors are advocates for equity, and access to rigorous educational
experiences for all students. In order to have a better grasp of what the school counseling
program is lacking, it is best to work from the ground up, which means looking through the
programs foundation, delivery system, management, and accountability. Though these processes
school counselors are better equipped to address the needs, resources, and accessibility for all
students. School counselors determine the foundational needs of the students, how the counselor
will address these needs, how to include stakeholders in the process and use outcome data to help
create a more beneficial program.
In order for a comprehensive program to be established, it is necessary for counselors to
first look at the foundation of the existing program. The programs foundation requires that the
school counselor takes a closer look at where student standards are for academics, college and
career readiness, as well as, the social-emotional needs of the students. Secondly, it is important
for the counselors to decide what delivery system would be most beneficial. Whether it be

through classroom guidance, small group, or individual planning or counseling; the counselor is
responsible for creating a systemic environment which all students have access to their services.
The third step of creating a comprehensive program is involvement of stakeholders. Once
stakeholders- such as, teachers, parents, community members- are involved it creates a better
work environment which is not isolated to only the student-counselor relationships. Finally,
school counselors who implement comprehensive counseling programs show how their programs
are making a difference though the use of outcome data. This gives the counselor and
stakeholders the opportunity to look at the current and newly added segments of the program and
see if the program is effective or if it needs to modified.
In order for the program to be developmentally appropriate, it is important for the school
counselor to take into consideration the developmental level of the students he or she is working
with. Counselors who are creating a developmental program should consider using student
standards which were created by the state for the state, or the counselor could use the American
School Counselor Association (ASCA) student standards which were created as a national
model. By using these student standards, the counselor is advocating for his/her students;
however, a school counselor is not only advocating for the students, but they are also advocating
for their own program.
School counselors advocate for their program by working with stakeholders to show that
they program is beneficial. With the large amount of budget cuts in education, it becomes
imperative that school counselors show through the outcome data that their program is helpful to
all students, not just to students who self-advocate or have parental advocacy. By using the
Multi-tier system of support, and the comprehensive development counseling program, school
counselors are able to work in the classroom, where they are able to work with all students, then

through these classroom guidance lessons theyre able to find students who need a little more
work such as the possibility of group sessions and individual counseling sessions.
School counseling programs should integrate the use of a comprehensive, developmental
program for all students. It is extremely important for professional school counselors to be seen
as a vital role in advocating for student success, equity and access to rigorous program
experiences for all. Through the use of a comprehensive developmental program counselors are
able to impact students by increasing the student achievement, reduce referrals, improve
attendance, higher graduation rates, and lover retention rates.

Works Cited
American School Counselor Association. (2012). ASCA national model: A framework for school
counseling programs (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.
Gysbers, N.C., & Henderson, P. (2012). Developing and managing your school guidance &
counseling program (5th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.