5 Benefits to Having School Counselors in Schools

School counselors are an integral element of the entire educational system. In addition to students, school counseling programs have a positive impact on several groups of people in the education system: students, parents, teachers, administrators and student services personnel.

Student Support

The biggest benefit of school counselors is that they prepare students for academic, career and social challenges by relating educational agendas to their success in the future. They make students motivated learners and facilitate their exploration of careers. Counselors also encourage students to talk to their parents or guardians about the things that they are worried about. When students do not feel comfortable talking about emotional or social problems at home, school counselors may have individual counseling sessions with them. If there is a problem occurring with a group of students, a group counseling session might be warranted. Sometimes counselors include the parents in these sessions for larger issues to determine whether outside counseling or support is necessary.

Parent/Guardian Support

The support that school counselors provide for parents and guardians is just as important as the support that they give to students. They may facilitate individual, parent-teacher or parent-parent consultations and discussions to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to issues regarding the students, whether it involves disciplinary decisions, specific educational material or social provocations. School counselors might even provide education to parents and act as a resource for parents who have questions about child-related problems. They also ensure that parents understand the services that other staff such as nurses, psychologists, resource teachers and social workers can provide for students who have special needs or abilities. When the parents need extra support, the counselors help them find it, whether it is within the school system or the community.

Teacher Support

School counselors provide a lot of support to teachers by completing a team that can effectively address the educational goals and needs of students, leading to an increase in student achievements. They can help plan classroom and group activities that meet the students’ needs. Counselors gather and share resources with teachers to help the staff develop their skills in classroom management and teaching effectiveness. They also observe students in the classroom or playground and provide teachers assistance with their roles as guides. School counselors review student records as well to ensure that teachers understand their implications and to facilitate parent-teacher conferences.

Administrative Support

School administrators are responsible for running all school operations, from educational materials to everyday school activities. School counselors are an integral part of these responsibilities. They ensure that the school counseling program and academic mission are in line and promote student success. Counselors also develop a system to manage the program and help the administration use counselors effectively to augment student development and learning. By evaluating the program, they can monitor data to make improvements to it and streamline its goals with their responsibilities. Additionally, they provide useful data from the program for funding and grant application purposes.

Student Services Personnel Support

Student services personnel include nurses, psychologists, resource teachers, social workers and other professional staff who provide special assistance to students. School counselors work in collaboration with these staff members and cultivate a positive team approach to their relationships with students to ensure that each student has the means to achieve success. They may increase collaboration between one or more student services members to utilize resources within the school and community. By sharing data from the school counseling program, the team can work together to maximize the educational and social benefits for student growth. Counselors can also bring their observations of students to a staff member’s attention to address specific concerns.

Being a school counselor requires compassion and patience as well as interpersonal, listening and speaking skills. We are thankful for the ways they foster academic development, work with parents, teachers and other school staff, and use data to develop, evaluate and implement comprehensive school programs.