COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 1

The School Counselors Role as a Collaborator and Its Impacts

Michelle Hayward

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 2

Abstract

School counselors play a vital role within the school setting to develop a comprehensive

program promoting academic achievement and social/emotional growth. As part of a

comprehensive program, the ideal school counselor is one who effectively collaborates with

others to create impactful growth in students academic, social, and emotional development by

way of different contexts. Collaboration is a pervasive feature within the ASCA National Model

and encompasses many modes, including partnerships with school staff, families, and the

community. While strictly causal data between collaboration and student outcomes has not been

found (i.e. experimental designs), research has shown that collaborative interventions between

school counselors and stakeholders have profound impacts on the social/emotional growth and

academic achievement of students.

Keywords: school counselor, role, collaborate, partnerships, academic achievement,

social/emotional growth
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 3

School counselors play a dynamic role within the school setting to develop a

comprehensive program that promotes academic achievement and social/emotional growth. A

vital and prominent part of that role is collaboration. Collaboration is effectively working with

stakeholders and utilizing resources that translate across environments to empower and engage

all students in the academic, social, and emotional growth process. Experts describe

collaboration as a mutual process to comprehend and resolve challenges (Baker, Robichaud,

Dietrich, Wells, & Schreck, 2009). As part of a comprehensive school counseling program, the

ideal school counselor is one who is an effective collaborator who creates impactful growth in

students academic, social, and emotional development by way of different contexts.

Collaboration Within a Comprehensive School Counseling Program

ASCA Domains

Collaboration is a pervasive feature within a comprehensive school counseling program.

With the counseling model established by the American School Counselor Association (2012),

collaboration can be seen within all four domains: Foundation, Management, Delivery, and

Accountability. Beginning with Foundation, ASCA (2012) encourages school counselors to align

their program mission and goals with those of the school and district and to speak with school

staff to form common beliefs. Collaboration is then seen in the model within the tools of

Management. These tools include outlining an annual agreement with the principal, building an

advisory council of school staff and other stakeholders, and distributing a counseling program

calendar to staff and parents (ASCA, 2012). Collaboration within Delivery encompasses all of

the school counselors indirect services: collaboration, consultation, and referrals (ASCA, 2012).

The school counselor can extend collaboration within direct services as far as he or she sees fit.
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 4

Lastly, school counselors remain accountable to their principal and advisory council regarding

program and professional evaluation and improvement (ASCA, 2012).

ASCA Themes

While collaboration is already an ASCA theme, the concept is also present within the

other three themes: Leadership, Advocacy, and Systemic Change. Leadership within the school

counseling context is influencing others to achieve a common goal. As such, collaboration is a

natural segue into leadership, and ASCA (2012) outlines several leadership activities in which

collaboration is an inherent feature. Collaboration can be seen in advocacy when school

counselors advocate for the academic achievement of all students by working with the students,

the school community, and the public on the micro- to macro- level (ASCA, 2012). Systemic

change to promote equitable treatment for all students also features collaboration by working

with stakeholders to transition from the old system to the new infrastructure (ASCA, 2012).

Modes of Collaboration

School Partnerships

Collaborating within the school environment is the most natural fit for a school counselor

simply due to the setting. Administrator input is crucial for a sustainable, school-wide program.

Thus, one of the most important movements a school counselor can do is to align the counseling

program with administrator efforts. Having the support of administrators for the school

counseling program will benefit the school counseling program goals (Atici, 2014).

Additionally, teachers are influential figures that can facilitate extensive growth in their

students (Walsh, 2014). With access to this invaluable resource, school counselors have the

unique opportunity to partner with teachers so as to amplify their programmatic efforts. The

natural pathway of referral from teacher to school counselor can evolve into a network of efforts
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 5

that include shared guidance, shared classroom and group instruction of the counseling core

curriculum, partnering on committees and councils, consultation to provide the teacher-specific

strategies, receiving baseline and progress information on students from teachers, and

collaborating on school-wide counseling program endeavors.

Another avenue of collaboration is with the other school counselors within the school and

district. Young, Millard, and Kneale (2013) describe types of school counselor teams that are

available for collaboration, including all school counseling personnel within a school or a

vertical team of feeder elementary, middle, and high school counselors. Other approaches of

collaboration include working with the school nurse to increase healthy habits, forming

relationships with the lunch attendants and custodians to learn more about students, partnering

with students to create peer-mediation or peer-mentoring groups, and aligning with the school

secretary to build rapport and distribute material to parents. School counselors can even

collaborate with physical educators to foster successful inclusion of students with disabilities (D.

Webb, T.T. Webb, & Fults-McMurtery, 2011)

Family Partnerships

Parents are regarded as the guiding force in their childrens lives, and, as such, are a

natural advocate for their children and resourceful allies communally and culturally for the

school counselor. School counselors can forge school-home partnerships though bridge-building

and gap-closing activities (Bryan & Griffin, 2010). The following are suggested ways to partner

with families: (a) help families become knowledgeable about child development and provide

resources to enhance student learning at home; (b) keep the lines of communication open about

school events, student academic or personal development and progress, and insight within the

home environment; (c) provide information to parents about school procedures to help families
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 6

support their children's academic activities; (d) include parents and family members from all

backgrounds as representatives and leaders on school committees (Griffin & Steen, 2010).

Specific examples include parents night, sending home pamphlets to foster an at-home

academic environment, and providing parents college financial information.

It is important to acknowledge the cultural component of the school counselor-family

partnership. The school counselor may need to approach different cultures in culturally-sensitive

ways in order to create the best possible outcome. For example, a school counselor can build

partnerships with African American families by first obtaining an accurate and well-balanced

perspective of African American family life, then by creating rapport, then establishing

community relationships and forming parent groups, and, lastly, advocating on behalf of African

American parents and children (Bradley, Johnson, Rawls, & Dodson, 2005).

Community Partnerships

Schools may not have all the resources needed to make a students academic experience

equitable. Therefore, the aim of community partnerships is to invest in the education and growth

of children through outside resources. Community partnerships form when the school counselor

identifies and collaborates with assets in the community and directs the delivery of support

programs and services to students and families (Bryan & Griffin, 2010; Griffin & Steen, 2010).

Direct delivery of support can include referrals for social or emotional issues, academic tutoring,

and mentoring programs.

Additionally, collaboration within the community can support students indirectly. This

may be in the form of inviting community members on the school counseling advisory council,

involving the community in advocacy, and creating a multidisciplinary committee. In one

example of community collaboration, school counselors created an expert panel of 19 individuals

COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 7

with knowledge and experience in postsecondary transitions for students with Autism Spectrum

Disorder (Krell & Perusse, 2012). This expert panel identified tasks that included keeping

communication with parents open and conducting workshops for students with ASD and their

parents about the college transition (Krell & Perusse, 2012).

One way school counselors can ensure successful collaboration in the community is

through community asset mapping. Community asset mapping is an active process of identifying

community resources and then using the resources for collaboration and referral. School

counselors should look for skilled individuals living in the community, citizen associations, and

institutions (University of Missouri, n.d.).

Social/Emotional and Academic Impacts

Social and Emotional Growth

No available empirical data has causally linked the act of collaboration between school

counselors and stakeholders with student outcomes. However, research has correlated

collaborative activities to student outcomes. For example, a study conducted by Dimmitt &

Wilkerson (2012) looked at several school counseling practices in the state of Rhode Island,

including school-wide prevention/support (e.g., Second Step), referrals to school psychologists

and social workers, referrals to external agencies, peer-mediation programs, and parent-

involvement activities. Results from this study found that students were significantly more likely

to report feeling a greater sense of belonging at the school, less likely to report difficulties with

teachers, less likely to say they were teased or bullied, and had fewer self-reported hassles with

other students (Dimmitt & Wilkerson). Parent involvement through collaborative activities was

also associated with positive outcomes in student engagement and appropriate peer behavior

(Carey & Dimmitt, 2012).

COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 8

School-wide positive behavioral support programs indicated significant reductions in

percentages of behavioral referrals, suspensions, and instructional days lost (Curtis, Van Horne,

Robertson, & Karvonen, 2010). Significant behavioral changes were also found when family

involvement was examined for students of color (Dearing, Kreider, Weiss, 2008). Researchers

found that when families of students of color were more involved, there were more positive

child-teacher relationships and positive attitudes of children toward school (Dearing et al.). It

was also found that when families of students of colors partnered with school counselors to

implement family-friendly programs, attendance improved and behavioral referrals decreased for

both male and female students (Bryan & Henry, 2008).

Parent partnerships with school counselors appear to be an effective means of impacting

social and emotional behaviors in children. When a multiple family discussion group program

was implemented and evaluated by school counselors working with children referred by teachers

for aggression and attention issues, outcome data was positive (Amatea, Thompson, Rankin-

Clemons, & Ettinger, 2010). Results showed that the partnership was effective in reducing

hyperactive, defiant, or aggressive behavior and improving the parents management skills

(Amatea et al.). Consequently, regular school counseling practices that fall under collaborative

activities, especially partnerships with parents, impact students socially and emotionally.

Academic Achievement

As was the case for potential social and emotional impacts due to collaboration, there is

no empirical evidence to suggest that collaboration causes a direct and significant difference on

student outcomes. However, the collaborative activities and interventions that school counselors

implement produce results that are worth noting. There is particular evidence that when a school

counselor connects a student with social support, that student's academic achievement will
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 9

improve. For example, supportive school-based relationships strongly contribute to the academic

engagement and school performance of newly immigrated youth (Suarez-Orozco, Pimentel, &

Martin, 2009). Findings showed these youth were less likely to drop out of school when they had

a peer social support network and supportive family (Suarez-Orozco, Gaytn, Bang, Pakes,

O'Connor, & Rhodes, 2010). Additionally, it is seen that a significant upward shift in

performance occurs when an advocate or mentor enters the youth's life, and thereby changes the

student's academic trajectory (White & Kelly, 2010). When a school counselor implemented a

school-based male mentoring program for African-American students, results showed that

participation improved academic achievement and fostered aspirations of success (Wyatt, 2009).

This line of collaboration and social support intervention extends to peer-mentor groups,

where students are regarded as competent experts. In one study, a school counselor used a high

school student with emotional-behavior disorder (EBD) as a mentor and monitor for an

elementary student also experiencing EBD (Smith, Evans-McCleon, Urbanski, & Justice, 2010).

Improvement was seen in both student's classroom behavior and social skills, thus also helping

academic achievement (Smith et al., 2010). Menesses and Gresham (2009) postulate that when

peers mediate in the intervention process, both the mentor and the mentee simultaneously

promote pro-social skills that will produce benefits for their academic development. School

counselors are actively a part of this process due to their creation and supervision of peer-

mentoring groups.

In addition to collaborative interventions to promote social support, the collaborative

activities within the comprehensive school counseling program impact academic achievement

specifically test scores. Having a strong ASCA National Model within the school was associated

with increased ACT scores, increased percentages of students taking the ACT, and enhanced
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 10

student achievement in math and reading as measured by the state achievement tests (Carey &

Dimmitt, 2012). Moreover, the differentiated delivery system was also associated with decreased

suspension rates, decreased discipline rates, increased attendance, and enhanced student

achievement as measured by the state achievement tests (Carey & Dimmitt). Another school-

wide program that involves collaboration is the Student Success Skills (SSS) program. When

classroom teachers, school counselors, administrators, and involved parents worked together to

implement SSS, results found an average effect size of .41 improvement in math scores and an

average effect size of .17 improvement in reading scores (Lemberger, Brigman, Webb, & Moore,

2012). Other school-wide collaborative endeavors have shown to increase student achievement

as well. In an extreme case of low graduation rates at a particular high school, the principal and

school counselors worked together to use a School Improvement Grant to implement the ASCA

National Model, focusing on academic interventions, social support, and relational trust (Salina

et al., 2013). The counselor-led "All Hands On Deck" program increased the graduation rate by

29.8% in three years - from 49% in 2009 to 78.8% in 2012 (Salina et al., 2013).

Conclusion

The ideal school counselor is one who effectively leverages beneficial resources to create

impactful growth in students academic, social, and emotional development. While strictly causal

data between collaboration and student outcomes has not been found (i.e. experimental designs),

research has shown that interventions that are collaborative in nature have profound impacts on

the social/emotional growth and academic achievement of students. As someone who is entering

the school counseling profession, I envision a day in which I am working side-by-side with my

principal, teachers, students, parents, and community to empower, challenge, and promote

student success.
COLLABORATION IMPACTS IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 11

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