Hats off to school counselors

Did you know this week is National School Counseling Week?

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) sponsors the week to bring attention to the unique contributions of professional school counselors in schools across the country—as well as to highlight how students benefit from the work that school counselors do. National School Counseling Week celebrates the impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.

The ASCA notes that school counselors are crucial to students’ long-term success because they:

• are actively engaged in helping students examine their abilities, strengths, interests and talents;
• work in a partnership with parents as they encounter the challenges of raising children in today’s world;
• focus on positive ways to enhance students’ social/personal, educational and career development;
• and work with teachers and other educators to provide an educational system where students can realize their potential and set healthy, realistic, and optimistic aspirations for themselves.

“School counselors work with all students to remove barriers to learning by addressing students’ academic concerns, career awareness in post-secondary options and personal/social skills,” said Kwok-Sze Wong, Ed.D., ASCA executive director. “Comprehensive school counseling programs help to increase student achievement and provide a much-needed resource for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. School counselors are integral to student success.”

CareerOneStop resources for school counselors:

School counselors can find a variety of resources on CareerOneStop to help them work with students. They can:

• Visit GetMyFuture.org for CareerOneStop’s collection of online tools and resources to help young people explore careers, learn about education options, and search for jobs. This website just for youth includes an Interest Assessment, Occupation Profile, and Scholarship Finder, among other resources.
• Check out the Video Library to find hundreds of career videos to share with students interested in exploring their career options (more than 100 of the career videos are newly revised).
• Find Outreach Materials such as posters and brochures to share with parents and youth.

Thanks, school counselors, for all you do!