School Counselor Professional Resources
Advocacy & Leadership
School Counselors Are Key to Creating a Safe Place for Students by Taylor & Goodman Scott
National Office for School Counselor Advocacy - The College Board established the National Office for School Counselor Advocacy to publicly support school counselors.
Read the full report about counselor-student ratios: www.schoolcounselor.org/effectiveness
School Counselor vs. Guidance Counselor:
Research showing why school counselors are no longer called “guidance counselors”
Guidance Counselor vs School Counselor - What is the difference between these two titles?
Watch this video to learn more about the difference in roles!
Interview with Russ Sabella: “The evolution of school counselors” on FL News Television program
“What's in a name? Why being called a school counselor matters” - The Counseling Geek blog
How does the school counselor of 20 years ago compare to the school counselor of today? Infographic from ASCA
Evidence-Based School Counseling
Helpful resources for counselors trying to implement new programming as it supports counseling initiatives with research:
7 Steps to ASCA National Model Action Plans with accompanying video tutorials
6 Steps to Equitable Data Analysis from Edutopia - When analyzing data, educators should include students’ identities and culture for a fuller picture of how they are doing.
What Works Clearinghouse - a searchable database of educational research
UMass Amherst Center for School Counseling Outcome Research & Evaluation (SCORE)
School Counseling Analysis, Leadership and Evaluation (SCALE) Research Center
Professional Development & Collaboration
School Counselor Office Setup - Crowd-sourced photos from School Counselors. You can also add your photos!
Public Speaking: Tips for School Counselors - 3 out of 4 Americans fear public speaking. Learn how to get into that 25% that doesn't with these tips.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Counselor Association - A professional organization for college admissions counselors who recruit and live in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. The counselors assist college bound students, families, and high school guidance counselors in navigating the path to college.... HS Counselors: From Mini-fairs, case studies, college application workshops, essay and interview workshops, instant apps (offered by some of our members), counselor fairs or luncheons, MARCA is available to serve and collaborate with you in a variety of ways. Share information on your upcoming college fairs and events to a diverse group of colleges from across the country that are more accessible to you than you may think.
Computer science professional development guide: How education leaders can build teacher, school counselor and administrator capacity to support equitable computer science education - By 2026, there will be an estimated 3.5 million computing-related jobs open in the United States. Today, 58 percent of all new jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) are in computing. To fill these jobs, we need today’s students to grow up not only using technology but also learning how it works and how to build, create and make an impact with it.
This guide offers four simple but thorough steps that education leaders like you can take to build CS capacity among your K-12 teachers, counselors and administrators.High School Counselor Week - Free weekly update of articles of interest to high school counselors
Leading Success - Free online toolkit for principals and school leaders to help raise student achievement and promote college and career readiness
ASCA U - self-paced, online professional development; earn 5 CEUs/50 Contact Hours per course. Fee is $99 for ASCA members, $249 for non-members
Counseling Curricula & Lessons
The Parent’s and Educator’s Guide to Combating Online Hate Speech
Free back to school guide for Counselors with tips from Counselors
K-12 Comprehensive School Counseling Program Curriculum - This pdf has sample lesson plans from North Carolina to help students achieve academic success.
CASEL - The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning provides evidence-based SEL lessons and resources.
Love is Not Abuse - A teen dating violence and abuse prevention curriculum.
Teaching Tolerance - offers lessons and other classroom resources, as well as professional development
Aevidum - Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Curriculum
Suicide Prevention & Assessment
ASCA joined the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Association of School Psychologists and The Trevor Project to release an updated suicide prevention Model School Policy today for K-12 schools. The plan offers a template for school administrators and policymakers to use while developing their own prevention and intervention policies as well as strategies for assisting with the grief process after a suicide.
National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) - SAMHSA’s National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) improves treatment and services for children, adolescents, and families who have experienced traumatic events.
Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
How to Talk to a Child about a Suicide Attempt in Your Family booklet/DVD. Order free print copies.
Preventing Suicide: Guidelines for Administrators and Crisis Teams - National Association of School Psychologists
How to Talk to Children About Suicide: An Age-By-Age Guide - Brief article featured on the Today Show that summarizes the key points. Good for parents.
Aevidum - Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Curriculum
Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth - youth suicide prevention program offering resources and support to NJ school districts.
New Jersey Youth Suicide Report - 2017 report from the NJ Department of Children and Families
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - Educational programs by subtopics/groups
Local Resources for At-Risk Students
Safe and Sound will assist children/families involved in domestic abuse situations
Eating Disorder Hope - Directory of Eating Disorder Centers and Treatment Clinics in NJ
NJ Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Programs for Adolescents - Directory compiled by Drug Rehab Services (DRS)
NJ Children’s System of Care / Perform Care - emergency services for children and adolescents actively in crisis
2nd Floor Youth Helpline - confidential and anonymous helpline for youth and young adults ages 10 to 24. Talk or text 24/7.
NJ Children’s System of Care Provider Directory for substance use treatment service providers
Designated Screening Services by county, provided by the NJ Department of Health
Podcasts
Free to be Mindful Podcast provides bite-sized tips for parents, educators and anyone working with kids. Real-talk conversations focusing on mindful living, mental health, and personal growth
Counselor Accents- Practical tips for school counselors, social emotional learning strategies, and technology that will enhance your counseling program
SCOPE: School Counselor Opportunities and Professional Engagement - The Virginia School Counselor Association Professional Development team offers a series of podcasts to provide support and encouragement to counselors.
The College Admissions Industry Podcast – Tests and the Rest
ASCAway (ASCA’s podcast)
A Few Minutes with the Counselor - Quick tips from an experienced school counselor!
Hatching Results Podcast - Moderated by Felipe Zañartu, Dr. Trish Hatch shares school counselor experiences using data to improve programs, practices and the profession of school counseling
Cutting Edge School Counseling covers trending topics in school counseling
The Community College Lady Podcast™️ provides information, inspiration, and strategies that help empower high school and current community college students so that they can transfer to a four-year university in two years.
Redefining School Counseling from The Harvard EdCast
Mindshift Podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn.
WorkLife with Adam Grant takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to explore the science of making work not suck. From learning how to love criticism to harnessing the power of frustration, one thing’s for sure: You’ll never see your job the same way again.
Truth For Teachers Podcast speaks life, encouragement, and truth into the minds and hearts of educators
College Essay Guy Podcast - A practical guide to college admissions
Admissions Uncovered - College Applications and Admissions Explained - Two high school seniors and one Columbia freshman explore the black box that is the college application process
Getting In: A podcast about the college admissions process - A real-time podcast following a diverse group of New York–area high school seniors through the exhilarating and harrowing process of applying to college
Unteachable Moment - Reactions of Starbucks employees to diversity training; would translate well to lessons on diversity and inclusion
Middle School Matters focuses on Middle School educators and provides news, conversation on relevant topics, and links to other great sites
Through The Eyes of a Therapist - Committed to shining light on EVERYTHING mental health by de-mystifying therapy, humanizing therapists, and de-stigmatizing mental illness. Check out Episode on Becoming a School Counselor featuring NJ School Counselor Vanessa De Jesus, LAC.
Webinars
Death, Loss, Grieving, & Trauma
The Dougy Center - The National Center for Grieving Children and Families
National Alliance for Grieving Children - General resources
National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement - Materials and guidance for school experiencing crises or helping grieving students, and resources to prepare to support children in times of crisis and loss
Eluna - A library offering personalized support and information for children and families affected by grief and addiction
Coalition to Support Grieving Students - Video and downloadable grief support modules for school personnel
OurHouse Grief Support Center - Downloadable PDF resources suitable for all ages
Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth - Youth suicide prevention program offering resources and support to NJ school districts
Grief Speaks - Presentations, workshops, keynotes and counseling
Anxiety & Stress
Stress in college students for 2019: (how to cope). Ideal to share at MS or HS level
The Mindful Word - Guided imagery scripts to help children cope with anxiety and stress
The Carrier Clinic - Resources from the facility in Belle Mead, NJ
Self-Injury: Raising the Profile of a Dangerous Behavior - Article describing research conducted by Rutgers Behavioral Health
Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Academic Counseling
Intervention Central offers free tools and resources to help school staff and parents to promote positive classroom behaviors and foster effective learning for all children and youth through Response to Intervention
Study Skills Checklist - A resource for students to better understand their study skills
Tips for Academic Success - Reference documents from Case Western University to help students improve their study habits and academic performance.
International Grade Conversion Guide for Higher Education - Great resource for evaluating international transcripts. This guide, provided by World Education Services, contains suggested grade conversions for higher education in more than 120 countries.
Evaluating Foreign Transcripts: The A-Z Manual- Resource for evaluating international transcripts from the NYC Department of Education.