Connecting school counseling to the current reality. (From the Editor).

Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization speaks clearly about personal mastery and the two underlying movements. The first is clarifying what is important to us and the second is learning to see the current reality. The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (ASCA, 2003) plainly communicates to the school counseling profession, the educational community, and the school counselor stakeholders, the critical components of the school counseling program. It also connects to the current reality of accountability, which is how students are different because of their access and full participation in the school counseling program. No longer can school counselors just be satisfied with feeling good at the end of the day, but also must be able to articulate how their work, the program's work, is connected to student success.

Read the articles in this issue of the journal and begin to explore the leadership and advocacy skills needed to begin to shift your work from a position focus to a program focus (Gysbers & Henderson, 2000). Question your current school counseling program and ask how it aligns with the concept of school counseling program. Locate and use the data the school district collects on student attendance, state tests, and behavioral referrals to help you design, redesign, or improve your program.

Read the professional literature, research school counseling programs, or use the ASCA National Model, and identify behaviors that you have developed that will help you with the conceptualization of the school counseling model. Steven Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People discusses seven habits that maybe useful in assisting school counselors who are committed to connecting their work to their district's educational mission. Consider the following:

Habit 1. Be Proactive. It is simply more effective to be proactive than reactive. School counselors cannot continue to have an "open door" policy, (VanZandt & Hayslip, 2001, p. 6) which allows students to show up at the office door and counselors are expected to respond. A proactive school counselor who works within a program model can begin to ensure every student's needs are addressed; for example, the content of the guidance curriculum assures that students are taught the attitudes, knowledge, and skills they need to be life-long learners and productive members of their communities.

Habit 2. Begin with the End in Mind. John Carver in his book, Reinventing Boards, suggests governing boards be charged with determining the "end," stating the vision for where an association wants to be in the future. Like governing boards, the school counselors must have a vision of how students are different because of their work. What is the outcome for students who are part of a school counseling program? School counselors must ask themselves how students are different after eight sessions on study skills; we cannot just report we had eight group sessions with 15 students. The program assures the school counselor's work is connected to student success. The program defines the "end."

Habit 3. Put First Things First. "There isn't enough time in the day. I can't do it all." Clearly these statements are part of a school counselor's vocabulary. But the school counseling program provides a framework for the school counselors to manage, deliver, and evaluate the program and prioritize how the school counselor's time is used to accomplish the goals of the program (ASCA, 2003).

Habit 4. Think Win/Win. In a school counseling program every student wins. The issues of equity and access can be addressed honestly and fairly. "Winning" is about every student getting what they need to be academically successful. It is about every student exiting the school district with a post-secondary plan. This is a "paradigm that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions." (VanZandt & Hayslip, 2001, p. 8).

Habit 5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. We have all heard, "before I can walk in another's shoes, I must first remove my own." (Author unknown). School counselors must hear many points of view before their influence is empowering and before stakeholders will embrace the concepts of the school counseling program. The program's success is built upon others understanding and encompassing its goals, assumptions, and mission.

Habit 6. Synergize. Synergy is achieved when people collaborate to build shared visions. It is a process that honors difference, teamwork, open-mindedness, and finding a better way. The program's vision, its goals are greater than the sum of its individual parts. The program's power and influence are greater than the any one individual's impact. As the number of school counseling programs grows in the United States, the sum of these programs influence on student success will impact the thinking in the halls of Congress, school boards, communities, and classrooms.

Habit 7. Sharpen the Saw. Like cars, we all need tune-ups. Clearly the National Model establishes the school counselor's professional development issues, are part of every program, and cannot be "set aside" because there are other more important priorities.

Habits can seem simple, but in fact are very powerful. In 1995, Council of Chief State School Officers stated, "schools cannot be viewed as stand-alone and independent entities, nor can educators, employers, or community-based organizations. Each must be viewed as part of a broad web of service providers--each dedicated, organized, and prepared to assist young people, among other clients, as they move toward adult roles and productive employment." School counseling programs connect to the school's mission and are organized to ensure every student has access to develop the attitude, knowledge, and skills that are required to be contributing members of their communities.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2003). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Gysbers, N. C., & Henderson, R (2000). Developing and managing your school counseling program (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

VanZandt, Z., & Hayslip, J. (2001). Developing your school counseling program: A handbook for systemic planning. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Mark Kuranz is a school counselor at J. I. Case High School, Racine, WI, and a former president on ASCA's Governing Board. He is chair of the National Model Steering Committee. E-mail: [e-mail].