VCC Magazine Winter 2018

V irginia C apitol C onnections , W inter 2018 13 Education’s Secret Weapon in Virginia By Liz Parker Throughout every school division in the Commonwealth,thereisasmallgroupofhighly skilled and trained professionals that remain largely under the radar. Their track record is lengthy, and includes accomplishments such as lowering disciplinary incidents, increasing academic achievement, improving graduation and attendance rates, narrowing achievement gaps, improving pass rates of students from underserved populations, and increasing college enrollment. With the endurance, determination and commitment rivaling that of a Navy Seal, these experts target interventions to improve the academic achievement, social/emotional growth, and career development of every student. While many refer to them as education’s secret weapon, their official title is “school counselor.” You may remember them as “guidance counselors,” but I would caution against referring to them as such. The profession has evolved dramatically over the past decade; today’s school counselors have a minimum of a master’s degree in counseling and are clinically trained to provide education, prevention, early identification, and intervention services through comprehensive, developmental counseling programs. Furthermore, today’s school counselors are driven by data, and the evidence of effective practice is overwhelming. Studies in 10 states found that school counseling programs have led to increased student proficiency in math and reading on state standardized tests, improved pass rates of students from underserved populations on high stakes tests, as well as increased attendance and on-time graduation rates. Smaller school counselor-to-student ratios have accounted for increases in Career and Technical Education (CTE) proficiency and program completion, and school counseling programs have been proven to decrease suspension and discipline rates and enhance school climate. Additionally, school counselors are essential in driving college aspirations and college readiness and counseling programs are actually framed around the mindsets, behaviors, and workplace readiness skills that students need to be successful in school and life. School counselors are also fundamental in helping students and families understand multiple post-secondary pathways such as 2- and 4-year degrees, apprenticeships, military opportunities, and technical and trade programs. Not only are school counselors educated and trained in career development and theory, they understand career opportunity, labor market trends, global economics, and the relationship of academic performance to the world of work. The impact of school counselors on student post-secondary pursuits is well documented, and the number of school counselor and student contacts are significant predictors of college application rates. In fact, one additional high school counselor is predicted to induce a 10-percentage point increase in 4-year college enrollment and lower school counselor-to-student ratios predicted higher enrollment of first generation students into college. Interestingly, career interventions that do not use school counselors have been found to be significantly less effective than groups, workshops, and classes run by school counselors. Just as important, school counselors are uniquely trained and educated to provide social/ emotional learning, mental health support, and crisis response in the school setting. Today, preventative school-based mental health and behavioral services are essential, as 1 out of 5 children ages 13-18 have or will have a serious mental health illness and half of all chronic mental health illness begins by age 14 (although the onset of major mental illness may occur as early as 7 to 11 years old). Similarly, 1 out of every 4 children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior. Student’s unmet mental health needs pose barriers to development, learning, and can even compromise school safety. More to the point, children with mental health challenges may miss as many as 18-22 days and their rates of suspension and expulsion are three times higher than their peers. Interestingly, schools are often the first place where mental health crises and needs of students are first recognized and initially addressed and, of school-aged children who receive any behavioral or mental health services, 70-80% of them receive them at school. Because of school counselors’ training and position, they are uniquely qualified to provide mental health and behavioral prevention, early identification and intervention, as well as crisis and referral services to students and their families. It’s simple, really. Increasing student access to school counselors increases positive student outcome results. It also provides a favorable, long-term fiscal impact for states. In Colorado, reducing school counselor-to-student ratios yielded a highly lucrative return on the state’s investment, saving$20 for every$1 invested in school counselors, totaling $319,842,750. With all of this in mind, it makes sense for Virginia to prioritize student access to school counselors. In contrast, the Commonwealth’s current school counselor-to-student ratios far exceeds 1:250, which is the ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association and backed by a body of research. Fortunately, this session brings new opportunities for legislators to increase student access to school counselors by showing their support on a budget amendment requested in the Senate and House for 1:250 school counselor-to-student ratios for At-Risk schools. Additionally, this session launches a call to action for Senators and Delegates to consider the impact school counselors have on their district and the state and consider championing the expansion all students’ access to school counselors as future legislative agendas take shape. For a full list of article references, please visit http://www.vsca.org/ . Liz Parker, President-Elect, Virginia School Counselor Association, Coordinator of School Counseling Programs for Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Services at Old Dominion University. V