Running head: NI RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL 1

Ni River Middle School- Mission Statement Critique

Jordan Sicknick

Montclair State University

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Ni River Middle School: School Counselor’s Mission Statement

Welcome to the counseling department at Ni River Middle School! The goal of our department is

to provide a comprehensive developmental school counseling program for our middle school

students. As counselors, we work to meet the academic, social and emotional needs of all

students. We do this in developmentally appropriate ways that enable personal growth and

academic success. Our efforts in these areas for our students are a part of a collaborative model

that includes our parents, teachers and administrators, in the process.

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Mission Statement Critique: Ni River Middle School

ASCA National Model

School counselors use their “…skills of leadership, advocacy, and collaboration to

promote systemic change” (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2012, p. xii).

According to the ASCA National Model, the school counselor’s mission statement should

provide “focus and direction” to the purpose of a comprehensive school counseling program

(ASCA, 2012, p. 24). The school counselor’s mission statement should align with the school’s

mission statement to create a consistent learning environment for students while giving clarity to

the available counseling services (ASCA, 2012). The mission statement should be written to

advocate for every student’s success, with students as the primary focus to promote long-range

results (ASCA, 2012). With the common uncertainty of what a school counselor’s role is in a

school system, it is important for the counseling department to market themselves by making

their presence and services well known. The counselor’s mission statement should be easily

accessible, clear and concise for parents/guardians and students (ASCA, 2012).

Alignment with School’s Mission. The school counselor’s mission statement should

align with the school’s mission statement to support the learning environment (ASCA, 2012).

Teachers, counselors, administration, students, and the community should work collaboratively

for each student’s needs. With all of these stakeholders working together, counselors have an

extensive support system to help students succeed in and out of school. School counselors can

learn information from other stakeholders they may not receive from meeting one-on-one with a

student that may help them create individual plans. While teachers and counselors have different

roles in the school, they have a common goal in working towards providing students successful
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and equal opportunities transitioning into their community. Counselors can learn many things

from teachers and vice versa, whether that be different ways to approach students, techniques,

how students interact in a classroom compared to in a counseling office, etc. Ni River’s school

mission statement reads, “Ni River Middle School embraces the idea that building a network of

community partnerships is essential to student success” (Ni River Middle School). The

counselor’s mission statement does not mention their community once, but does represent

working from a collaborative model. It includes teachers, parents, and administrators, which are

significant roles for the students to receive inclusive support. The counseling department should

recognize and join with the school’s mission on including the community because there are many

resources the community has to offer. By keeping a close connection with the community, the

school can bring in or refer to different resources that may be out of the counselor’s expertise.

Counselors would also be more informed of what goes on outside of school that may be relevant

to bring into school to further support students.

Student Focus. The mission statement should be student focused, rather than mainly

what school counselors will do. Counselors should explain the support they will be providing for

their students and keep them included in the dialogue. Ni River Middle school did a great job

with keeping their focus on the students. Every sentence mentions their students and how they

will help them succeed through a developmentally appropriate lens, within different domains

such as, academic, social, and emotional needs. I think they should have included the student’s

career needs as well, since the long-term goal would be to have their students become active,

hard-working members of society. Many responsibilities of a counselor will be career

counseling, for example, picking out appropriate classes in order for students to learn new skills

or helping them with possible college endeavors.

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Advocacy. It is a school counselor’s obligation to advocate for a student’s academic

achievement, as well as their career and personal/social development (ASCA, 2012). Counselors

should advocate for the removal of systemic barriers that could prevent students from succeeding

(Thompson, 2012). Counselors must be able to identify systemic barriers to student achievement

by advocating for policies and practices, which can create awareness and change towards closing

the achievement gap (ASCA, 2012). Ni River Middle School includes “all students” in their

counselor’s mission statement, but I believe they could have done a better job including who

these students are. In reference to the first subsection “Alignment with School’s Mission,” Ni

River Middle School mission statement reads, “Programs of study provide rigorous, challenging

curricula to meet the diverse needs of all learners” (Ni River Middle School). The counseling

department should have quoted this sentence into their mission statement, providing a teamwork

sense of advocacy towards their student’s education.

Long-Range Results. As previously stated, there is no discussion of student’s career

development. It is crucial that counselors recognize the importance of working towards an end

goal of success outside of school for their students. Whether that mean assisting their students in

scheduling classes that teach new skills for future careers or supporting them receive further

education beyond K-12. Ni River Middle School, fails to mention career development or their

goal for students to be successful members of society. Although they mention personal growth

and academic success, it fails to mention what happens after their academic achievement. It is

important to remember that students receive an education to become productive, educated

members of society, who are able to support themselves in a competitive, hard-working

community.
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Further Considerations

I believe Ni River Middle School could have taken a better look into the ASCA National

Model to ensure that they touched upon all aspects of a student’s education and success. They

should reflect their school’s mission statement, as well as include the additional services a

counseling department offers. Overall, I think they put effort into their counselor’s mission

statement, but failed to implement all features of a comprehensive school counseling program.
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References

American School Counselor Association. (2012). The ASCA National Model: A framework for

school counseling programs (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

Ni River Middle School. (2017). Mission Statement. Retrieved from

https://www.spotsylvania.k12.va.us/Page/2176

Ni River Middle School. (2017). Ni River Falcons. Retrieved from

https://www.spotsylvania.k12.va.us/domain/437

Thompson, R. A. (2012). Professional school counseling: Best practices for working in the

schools (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.