President's Letter: Vital Community Connections

Recently, I received a phone call from a school counselor that I met at a CASC conference. She was concerned about changes that were happening in her community and needed someone to talk to who would be confidential. That is what we do, isn’t it? As school counselors, we keep most of our job confidential. We facilitate support groups, closing-the-gap programs, and other Tier 2 and 3 services; and our students understand what we can and can’t keep confidential. We speak with students and families and hear stories that make our hearts break. Of course we report when needed and make outside referrals for students who need a more therapeutic intervention. We teach Tier 1 school counseling core curriculum lessons so every student in our school learns proactive attitudes, skills, and knowledge. We come to work every day knowing there could be heartbreak or joy. Is it enough to ensure that our school is a safe haven for our students? Is it enough that our students know the school counselor is there for them?

The school counselor I spoke with has a functioning advisory council. Many members of the school family attend the advisory council meetings along with parents and students. Is that enough? What about the community partnerships? If there is a concern in the community, wouldn’t this be a good way to build a bridge? For schools that are working toward RAMP recognition, they do have community members involved and are they building those bridges. Good advisory councils help the school counselors in so many ways. Our advisory council members give us feedback and, most important, they understand the many components of a comprehensive school counseling program. While they don’t observe our groups, counseling sessions or curriculum lessons, they see our data. They hear from students who participate in those activities. When advisory council members are out in the community, they share the great things that school counselors do. They tell their friends about the decrease in bullying incidents, that grade point averages are rising and that fewer students are tardy to school.

In the case of the school counselor who called me, their school no longer has community members on their advisory council. I understand. It is sometimes hard to reach out to the community and convince people that their participation in an advisory council helps the community. But it does. School counselors need to build those bridges and create those partnerships. A strong partnership with community members is important for elementary, middle and high school counselors. Each level may have a different type of interaction, which is fine. Partnerships help the community understand the variety of services school counselors provide and ultimately help promote a greater understanding of the need for and effect of a comprehensive school counseling program.
 
Contact Nancy Jarman-Dunn, CASC president, at nancy.jarman-dunn@schoolcounselor-ca.org.