CHAPTER 3: Transformational Thinking in Today’s Schools Transforming The School Counseling Profession Fourth Edition Bradley T. Erford

The School: The Primary Workplace for School Counselors School counseling is one component of a complex system that is being held accountable for educating today’s students to a higher level of academic proficiency than ever before. The transformed school counseling profession must align its inputs, processes and outcomes for students with the new mission of schools.

Four Forces Driving Change in Schools Inequities in the educational system Changes in the nation’s demographics and school populations Changes in the economy and the workplace Major changes in educational public policy

Inequities in the Educational System In the 1980s, a report titled A Nation At Risk concluded that the education system in the United States lagged behind that of other industrialized nations. The report found that the United States’ educational system lacked a set of coherent academic content standards to define what all students should know and be able to do as a result of their 12 years of public education.

Inequities in the Educational System Subsequent to A Nation at Risk, a group of policy makers issued a report highlighting the systemic barriers that contribute to the poor/under achievement of students of color and students of low income families. The educational system systematically and consistently provides less to students who have the greatest educational needs. The educational system operating in this manner is an inherently inequitable state of affairs that professional school counselors must address.

Changes in the Nation’s Demographics and School Populations Communities are changing as a result of immigration, declining birth rates among some populations, and the general aging of the population. To maintain the nation’s status as a world power and to protect and maintain the democratic way of life, the education system must educate all of its citizens. Resources must be distributed equitably, based on student need (i.e., those who need more should get more) if we are to meet the mandate of education for all students to higher levels of academic proficiency.

Changes in the Economy and the Workplace The global economy, technological advances and the explosion of knowledge in science and related fields has resulted in major changes in the workplace and the requirements for success in the workplace. All students need to be provided with the opportunity to master challenging academic content to participate successfully in the local and global economy.

Changes in the Economy and the Workplace There have been significant increases in the skills and knowledge required for success at all levels in the 21st century workplace—from entry skill jobs to professional training. The academic performance of students in the United States is being surpassed by the students in its international industrialized competitor countries. Students in the United States consistently score lower on international assessments of mathematics and science than students in other industrialized and even some non-industrialized nations.

Major Changes in Education Public Policy The 1992 Reauthorization of the Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) brought a sea change to the educational landscape. The ESEA required all schools educating students from low income families to educate their students to the same challenging academic content standards as all other schools. The ESEA instituted another deep policy change, a change from a focus on inputs to measuring success. All districts and schools receiving federal support from Title 1 of the ESEA were held accountable for the academic results of all students.

Major Changes in Education Public Policy As required by law, The Title 1 of the ESEA was reauthorized in 2000 and came to be known as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. It strengthened the accountability provisions of the original law because the requirements were being ignored for the most part by states and districts. NCLB, among other changes, requires states to set time lines for closing achievement gaps and set a 12 year time frame for getting all students to proficiency. These accountability policies affect all of the professionals in the education system.

Education Reform The policy to promote college level learning for all students is a response to the changes in the demographic and economic landscape. The National Governor’s Association declared high school reform in America its highest priority. As a result of this attention, 34 states have increased their graduation requirements and are requiring students to complete a rigorous curriculum.

Education Reform As is so often the case in the initiation of sweeping education reforms, there is a lag between policy adoption and successful implementation. Expecting all students to achieve at proficient levels makes obsolete the long standing school system and counselor-implemented practice of sorting students into the categories of “college and non-college bound.” All students are now to be educated to academic levels that would allow them to be prepared to make the choice to enter post-secondary training without the need for remediation – and succeed.

Education Reform Professional school counselors need to help develop and implement institutional policies to ensure that all students have access to the challenging curriculum required by the new law. The transformed school counselor, while addressing the needs of individual students, will have an eye on the institutional policies and practices that impede student progress.

Transforming the School Counseling Profession The forces pushing for change in education and the resulting revisions in education policies provided the impetus for the Transforming School Counseling Initiative (TSCI). The Initiative was built on the premise that school counseling, as a profession, had to move from a focus on primarily fixing individual students to removing the systemic barriers to student success for whole groups of students.

Transforming the School Counseling Profession A new vision for school counseling was developed and distributed by the Education Trust (1996). This new vision highlighted movement from traditional practice to a vision of the professional school counselor being a proactive, change agent and advocate that focused on supporting and creating pathways for all students to have school success. Teaming and collaboration, advocacy and leadership are the lynchpins on which the Initiative structured changes in the way professional school counselors should be trained.

The ASCA National Standards and Model National Standards for School Counseling Programs (Campbell & Dahir, 1997) was published as a standardized basis for comprehensive, developmental guidance services. The three domains for the these standards are: Academic, career, personal/social The National Standards are a historical landmark in the profession and help school systems around the country develop school counseling curricula. Subsequent to publishing the Standards, ASCA developed and published the ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs that represented a more comprehensive approach for integration of the Standards into a school counseling program.

Impact of Change on School Counselor Practice Professional school counselors must design data driven school counseling programs that fit into the mission of today’s schools: Rigorous standards and accountability for all students. Accountability is the professional school counselor’s responsibility—not just teachers and administrators. Professional school counselors need to integrate themselves into school reform by collaborating with all school staff instead of working as ancillary personnel removed from the instructional side of schools.

Impact of Change on School Counselor Practice Successful school counselors in 21st Century schools will shift from focusing on fixing individual students to fixing the policies and practices in the educational system that contribute to academic failure of students. Professional school counselors also must: Become proactive leaders rather than “helper responders.” Shift the focus from mental health and individual changes to the whole-school and systemic concerns that fit the whole-school’s mission of academic achievement. Use “hard data” to prove accountability.

A Call for Change in School Counselor Preparation Programs Need to move from the 3 “C’s” of counseling (i.e., counseling, consultation, and coordination) to a broader range of roles, including: Leadership Advocacy and systemic change Teaming and collaboration Counseling and coordination Assessment and use of data

Accountability: Making School Counseling Count To act as agents of school and community change, professional school counselors must: 1. Provide and articulate a well-defined developmental counseling program with attention to equity, access, and support services. 2. Routinely use data to analyze and improve access to, and success in, rigorous academic courses for underrepresented students. 3. Actively monitor the progress of underrepresented students in rigorous courses and provide assistance or interventions when needed. 4. Actively target and enroll underrepresented students into rigorous courses. 5. Develop, coordinate, and initiate support systems designed to improve the learning success of students experiencing difficulty with rigorous academic programs.

Leadership and Transformed School Counselor Practice Role Responsibilities of the Professional School Counselor 1. High standards for all students. 2. Remove learning barriers. 3. Teach students skills need to help themselves. 4. Teach how to succeed in the school system. 5. Teach how to utilize academic support systems. 6. Use data to promote program changes. 7. Work with all school personnel. 8. Offer staff development training to promote higher student standards. 9. Eliminate myths 10. Promote community activities for higher student standards. 11. Help parents & the community design ways to work with schools to support higher students standards. 12. Serve as a community resource.

What Prevents Professional School Counselors From Changing? 1. Homeostasis - unwillingness to change. 2. Administration dictating responsibilities. 3. Accepting additional responsibilities. 4. Pressure from special interest groups dictating the professional school counselor’s role. 5. No follow-up reports. 6. Time consumed by special education mandates. 7. Time consumed by quasi-administrative tasks.

What Prevents Professional School Counselors From Changing (Continued) 8. Role as a mental health counseling provider with excessive client loads. 9. Professional school counselor not determining their role. 10. Little professional development provided for the professional school counselor. 11. Time consumed by crisis management. 12. Lack of involvement with school reform. 13. Not viewing academic achievement as the primary goal. 14. Working to change students, not the system.

A Sense of Urgency is Propelling Change The sense of urgency to help all students be successful in school is propelling professional school counselors to change. Many professional school counselors are seizing the opportunity to be leaders in schools and work as advocates for students.

A Sense of Urgency is Propelling Change The transformed school counselor is now working in school districts that are held accountable for making sure that all students have an opportunity to achieve academic success in challenging curricula. Professional school counselors must maximize their capacity to impact the greatest number of students in need of their help. The transformed school counselor must also develop the capacity to determine when the intervention should be focused on individual students or when the intervention should be focused on the changing the policies and practices being implemented by the system that are the source of student failure and/or student social distress.

Conclusion The vision for professional school counselors presented in this book is cutting edge, compelling, and essential to maintaining the profession in the 21st century and beyond. This vision puts professional school counselors in the middle of school reform and gives them an opportunity to demonstrate that they do make a difference in the success of students. Professional school counselors will be valued when they demonstrate effectiveness in making systemic changes that allow all students access to rigorous academic programs and support for success.