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School Counseling Leadership Specialist

By ASCA | February 2020

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The need for effective leaders in school counseling has never been greater. Students need school counselors to be effective educational leaders who can effect systemic change in their schools. ASCA and state school counselor associations need leaders who can guide the school counseling profession into the future.

Leadership is an attitude and a state of mind, not an innate ability. Everyone has leadership qualities and the potential to lead, no matter what official position we may hold.

To address these needs, ASCA has developed a new professional development package: The School Counseling Leadership Specialist program. This course is meant to be transformative. It doesn't focus on how leaders behave but how leaders think, not what leaders do but what leaders are. At the completion of this course, you should not only know what makes a good leader, you should be a good leader – in your school building, your district, and your state school counselor association. Completion of the course also fulfills training requirements for leadership positions in ASCA at the national level.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of the course, you will be able to:
  • Discuss the nature of leadership and leadership attributes
  • Recognize various leadership theories and principles
  • Demonstrate effective leadership in traditionally non-leadership roles
  • Identify the sources of power and authority
  • Develop your own personal leadership attributes
  • Develop a greater self-awareness and identify personal attributes, such as motivations and limitations, that may become obstacles to effective leadership
  • Explain how leaders effect systemic change in organizations
  • List ways to collaborate with people at higher levels of authority as well as peers and how to foster collaboration throughout an organization
  • Explain the challenges of leadership in educational settings
  • Describe Policy Governance and how it can be used effectively in a variety of settings
  • Learn how to monitor and evaluate organizational (and management) performance
  • Be an effective leader in your state school counselor association and in ASCA
Program participants earn five CEUs (equal to 50 contact hours) focused on developing effective leadership qualities and learning how to use those qualities in a variety of settings and situations. Learn more and register