Exemplar #5 Analysis

ASCA National Model

Standard Met:
Standard 17
Standard 18
Standard 22
Standard 27
Standard 29

Foundation of School Counseling Profession

Professionalism, Ethics & Legal Mandates
Leadership
Collaboration, Coordination and Team Building
Prevention Education and Training

Introduction
At the beginning of our second year in the program we started our high
school fieldwork placements. At the same time we were enrolled in CSP 775: The
ASCA National Model I during the fall semester and CSP 776: The ASCA National
Model II during the spring semester. Throughout the semester we learned how to
implement, track and evaluate a comprehensive school counseling program using
the ASCA National Model. In Summer 2014, we were enrolled in CSP 620:
Foundations of School Counseling which provided an overview of the school
counseling profession, historically and currently. In that same course we learned
about the four components of the ASCA National Model which are the foundation,
management, delivery and accountability. Within these four components, the
model incorporates four themes including advocacy, leadership, collaboration and
systemic change. Additionally, in the Spring of 2015, we enrolled in CSP 742: Policy,
Politics, Ethics and Law which focused on current policies and laws in the field of
school counseling. This course, along with the other two mentioned in this
introduction, provided us with the knowledge necessary to develop a
comprehensive school counseling program using the ASCA National Model.
Standards of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program
STANDARD 17: Foundation of School Counseling Profession

Understanding the history of the school counseling profession is an important role of

a school counselor. In studying the ASCA National Model, we were first introduced
to the history of the profession and how it has influenced where we are today as a
profession. With historical knowledge, we are able to better plan for the future and
embrace opportunities for growth. This is key to developing any school counseling
program. By using historical and current data, we better understand the needs of
the populations we are serving in our schools. Today, the use of data is known to be
a foundational piece to implementing a comprehensive school counseling program.
As a part of CSP 620, I familiarized myself with the current roles of school
counselors and resources available to support our role. In addition, I developed a
comprehensive school counseling program as one of our assignments. The
assignment included creating a program brochure and action plans.
STANDARD 18: Professionalism, Ethics and Legal Mandates
As a school counselor, our professionalism and ethical knowledge is imperative to
our role in schools. Successful implementation of the ASCA National Model includes
knowledge of student and counselor competencies as well as the ASCA Ethical
Standards for School Counselors. At my fieldwork site, I evaluated what
competencies were being met and their alignment with the ethical standards. A
yearly evaluation of the school counseling competencies enables you to ensure you
are following the ethical standards and providing the services and supports
necessary for students. In addition this application at my fieldwork site, in our CSP
742 course, I applied ASCAs ethical standards and state and federal law to a variety
of ethical situations. These scenarios allowed me an opportunity to explore how I
would handle different ethical situations and gave me an awareness of state and
federal laws that affect school counseling programs.

STANDARD 22: Leadership

Leadership can be defined in a myriad of ways. Leadership as a school counselor
can be seen through our support of students academic and personal/social
development, implementing effective programs, professionalism and overcoming
challenges within the school system. The ASCA National Model is setup in a way
that ensures you are meeting students needs in all domains. As a part of our CSP
775/776 course, we were tasked with implementing core curriculum lessons and
small group lessons which supported students both academically and socially. An
important piece of our leadership is professionalism within the school system. I
learned and practiced this at my fieldwork site when I was gathering and analyzing
data, partnering with teachers to deliver lessons and advocating for students
needs. In addition, as part of implementing the ASCA National Model, its expected
that you will not only gather data but that it will be shared with key stakeholders.
This sharing of data and results is a key component to our leadership within the
school system. As I completed core curriculum and small group lessons, I shared
the data that was collected from pre/post surveys with my supervisor and at times
the information was shared with the administration.
STANDARD 27: Collaboration, Coordination and Team Building
Collaboration is a huge part of being a successful school counselor and building an
effective counseling program. We collaborate with stakeholders who are part of the
school system as well as community stakeholders. Through collaboration,
coordination and team building we create open lines of communication and
opportunity for sharing among staff and students. As previously mentioned,
collaboration and coordination with teachers is essential in our roles. When
implementing core curriculum and small group lessons for our CSP 775/776, teacher

communication was imperative to ensure I could have access to students in order to

deliver the lessons I created. In building these relationships, teachers and other
staff members gained trust in me and felt comfortable to come to me with concerns
regarding students. This creates a team of staff members who are all working
together to support the needs of students.
STANDARD 29: Prevention Education and Training
A large part of the ASCA National Model is delivering core curriculum lessons to
students. Core curriculum lessons are preventative in nature. Through the use of
these lessons, I was able to reach large groups of students in a short amount of
time. A common concern of school counselors is the need for more time. By
implementing the ASCA National Model and using the core curriculum lessons, you
are effectively reaching students that might otherwise not be seen by the school
counseling team. Additionally, in order to effectively maintain our roles as school
counselors, its essential that we attend professional development and keep up to
date on trainings. At my fieldwork site, I have had the opportunity to attend some
of the districts professional development workshops. One in particular focused on
understanding how to best support English Language Learners or EL students. In
some ways, this professional development session was also a preventative measure
to ensure these students were receiving the services they need to prepare them for
graduation and postsecondary plans.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the ASCA National Model provides an effective
framework for building and developing a school counseling program. Understanding
and implementing the various components of the ASCA National Model throughout
the last two years has provided me with the experience necessary to build a

comprehensive program at my future school of employment. However, I do feel

strongly that the ASCA National Model is not the sole answer to providing a
comprehensive counseling program but that it does offer structured steps to which
you can build upon as a school counselor. There are definitely aspects of the model
that I know I will use in my future work as a school counselor but I know that I grow
in the profession, I will find additional way of utilize the models concepts to best
serve the students.