PRIMARY ROLES OF SENIOR HIGH COUNSELORS In serving as a member of a school's counseling and guidance team, credentialed counselors support teachers, parents, administrators, and students whenever there are personal, cultural, and educational conflicts that have an impact on students' development of a positive self-concept, an efficient learning style, useful decision-making skills, and realistic formation of short- and long-term post-secondary goals. A credentialed counselor usually has preparation at the Master's Degree level and performs the following roles: COUNSELOR as a Psychological Helper - Duties and Responsibilities
- Participates in developing a guidance curriculum; implements the goals of personal development with teachers through mini-lectures/lessons in aspects of mental health to larger groups, e.g., parenting classes, education/career planning classes, or health classes. Proactive education, rather than remediation, becomes the goal.
- Counsels individuals and groups of students who require in-depth assistance for decision-making and values clarification in the areas of educational counseling, career and vocational counseling, and personal or social development.
- Works with school psychologist, PSA counselor, parents, and additional support services personnel to help students in need of additional services.
- Participates in school's CRISIS TEAM during individual or school-wide emergencies.
COUNSELOR as Coordinator - Duties and Responsibilities
- Uses community and business resources to provide services that help both students and staff to develop counseling and human relations skills, e.g., dispute resolution/conflict management workshops or cultural sensitivity training through social studies elective classes. Counselors will help plan and coordinate outside resources.
- Communicates with other counselors, college counselor, and career advisors to build improved school-wide programs and policies.
- Uses social support systems that are considered more socially acceptable within the larger community and within some cultures, such as ethnic community centers, family networks, churches, neighborhood social networks, and ethnic advocacy groups.
COUNSELOR as Consultant Duties and Responsibilities
- Consults in case conferences with teachers, parents, and other credentialed staff members to evaluate and/or monitor students' academic and social behavior to determine possible need for special education services/program.
- Meets with parents to determine ~ parents can encourage more effective/appropriate behavior in school or at home and advises parents on how to secure outside assistance.
- Interprets standardized achievement and scholastic test results for students, parents, teachers, and administrators.
- Continually evaluates student records to note (and inform students and parents of) grade-level and graduation status, as 'well as the possible need for summer/winter session classes, ROP/ROC classes, or adult school classes.
- Monitors the course 'work taken by both college-bound and trade/vocation bound students to ensure post-secondary success.
- Assists ninth-graders and their parents in the formation of four-year educational plans.
- Advises teachers on how to develop more effective classroom climates.
COUNSELOR as Advocate - Duties and Responsibilities
- Develops and implements plans to improve school climate and morale.
- Assists in efforts to improve communication among teachers, students, parents, and administrators.
- Develops and participates in drop-out prevention programs.
- Develops and participates in drug/alcohol prevention programs.
- Develops and participates in pregnancy prevention and effective parenting programs.
- Ensures that all students can benefit from the social and economic resources of the majority culture without losing what is unique to their own cultures.
- Monitors progress and provides support for opportunity-transferred students as 'well as students coming from alternative forms of education, including incarceration.
- Develops and participates in conflict-management/dispute-resolution programs.
- Works with students and school staff to decrease students' feelings of isolation and increases students' self-esteem and regard for others.
- Increases students' understanding of racism in society and in themselves while sorting out the feelings and reactions triggered by racist beliefs and/or actions against them.
Additional COUNSELOR Duties and Responsibilities
- Meets with students by grade level in very large groups to discuss general diploma requirements and school procedures at the beginning of each school year.
- Prepares guidance materials for individual students; and, through academic counseling, assists in course selections for the next semester or semesters' classes.
- Prepares information for entry on informal cumulative records for every student.
- Periodically notifies parents and students, especially seniors, of changes in credits earned and proficiency tests passes.
- Interviews new students to assess educational and emotional needs.
- Periodically reviews computer printouts and progress reports/report cards to assess student progress.
- Notified teachers or parents of the need for conferences and sets them up.
- Handles a variety of students referred to counseling office by teachers.
- Participates in articulation programs with feeder middle schools.
- Answers phone calls directed to counseling services from persons requesting specific information, e.g., parents, probation officers, other schools needing information, social service agencies, police, colleges, potential employers, etc.
- Writes letters of recommendation for colleges and universities, EOP applications, scholarship and grant applications (concentrated in the months of November to March).
- Circulates progress reports and attendance checks between scheduled reporting periods at the request of parents for conferencing purposes.
- Provides accurate information to receiving counselors regarding redesignated ESL students making the transition to mainstream classes.
- Confers with teachers to improve the instructional program through discussion of students' problems, test results, and learning modalities.
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GOALS According to Robert Myrick (1987) in Developmental Counseling and Guidance: a Practical Approach. certain goals characterize almost all developmental counseling and guidance programs. For the most part, regardless of school or school system, general and specific objectives can be organized around them.
- GOAL 1: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
- GOAL 2: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS
- GOAL 3: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS
- GOAL 4: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN DECISI0N-MAKING AND PROBLEM-S0LVING
- GOAL 5: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING INTERPERSONAL AND
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
- GOAL 6: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING SCHOOL SUCCESS SKILLS
- GOAL 7: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
- GOAL 8: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY PRIDE AND INVOLVEMENT
- GOAL 9: TO REMOVE OBSTACLES TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP COUNSELING
DEVELOPMENTAL GUIDANCE - SENIOR HIGH, GRADES 9-12
DEVELOPMENTAL GUIDANCE - GRADE 9 GOAL 1:TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
OBJECTIVES:
- students will learn the physical layout of their school.
- students will learn the code of conduct and school procedures.
- students will become acquainted with school personnel and the services they provide.
- students will become knowledgeable about the curriculum, course content and selections.
- students will be aware of extracurricular activities and special programs.
- students will learn to consult with supportive, caring adults.
GOAL 2: TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS
OBJECTIVES:
- students will further the development of self-esteem.
- students will increase awareness of gender, identity, stereotypes, and cultural similarities and differences.
- students will enhance their appreciation of the uniqueness of self.
- students will understand stress and develop stress-management skills.
- students will develop skills to Interact positively with others.
|
|
