President’s Letter: Reveal Your Leadership

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."
– Woodrow Wilson

As we come to the end of another successful National School Counseling Week, I hope that each of you took the time to advocate for your school counseling program. When I ponder this quote by Woodrow Wilson, I know that not one school counselor is in this profession to simply make a living. School counselors have a passion for what they do each day and because of this passion they impact lives. We give 110 percent of ourselves each day to make sure that the needs of the students, staff and school are met. 

However, we are not the best at marketing our school counseling programs. A majority of us are comfortable with doing all of the behind-the-scenes responsibilities but not with communicating to others the results from these actions. As professionals, I think we need to step out of this comfort zone and begin to be more active in promoting the strengths of our program. Advocating for our programs is also a great way to take on some leadership responsibilities in our buildings/districts while marketing our programs. Do the staff members in your building know about the goals for your program? Do they know what data you have been using and tracking? Do you have an advisory board made of stakeholders where you share your goals and data for your counseling program?  

Now is a great time to show your leadership potential by advocating for the school counseling program that you feel so passionately about and strive to improve every day.

• Help educate your staff on the appropriate responsibilities of a school counselor.
• Meet with your principal to look at data and set up goals for the year and discuss appropriate professional development to strengthen your skills and continue your growth.
• Involve your stakeholders in educational opportunities and develop an advisory board if you haven’t had a chance to establish one yet.

Now is the time to take on this leadership role, and remember, there is no one better to lead your program than you!