The Power of Partnerships

In a society that is often plagued with crisis and maladaptive behaviors, today’s schools face educating a population of students whose personal and social problems create barriers to academic success. School counselors have a significant role in addressing these complex mental health problems. School counselors have the advantage of being a part of the child’s daily life, allowing them to be in a position to not only identify possible mental health issues but to also provide intervention and support services to students.

Counselors are often referred to as advocates, listeners, problem solvers and creative thinkers and often wear many hats in the course of an eight-hour school day. One aspect of the counselor that is frequently overlooked is the importance of their community involvement. Collaborative efforts often begin at the local school site as counselors work with teachers, administrators and other health care professionals. Student success requires efforts both from within and from outside the school to develop a community of learners.

Partnerships among school counselors, schools, families and communities increase student achievement, improve attendance, promote career development and foster resilience in students. The goal of enabling all children to achieve high academic standards is enhanced when the education community joins with public and private sector health, mental health and social services providers to address the widespread conditions, including those that are trauma based, that interfere with student learning and students’ prospects for a healthy adulthood.
Building partnerships that address the mental health and the developmental needs of children is one of the key strategies for improving the learning environment and academic performance. Research indicates that early identification and treatment will reduce the risk that children will end up in the juvenile justice or child-serving systems, improving the odds that they will grow into productive adults.

Problems facing children and families are often complex. In the face of such problems, school counselors have an active role in developing and facilitating school and community partnerships. Developing a culture of collaboration at the local school level can unite students, faculty, staff and the community in a common vision and mission to prepare each student to be successful in school and to acquire the essential skills for successful employment, responsible citizenship and life-long learning.

As counselors, we should be optimistic about each student’s future, accept the responsibility to help all students, and respect each student. Understanding collaborative efforts, when properly initiated and carefully nurtured, will improve school counseling programs and promote student success.

When identifying students in need of mental health services, one should ask:

• What do the families and community of a specific school need?
• In what kind of programs or resources would they be most interested in becoming involved?

Finally, we as school counselors must be prepared to take a holistic approach in meeting the needs of each student, an approach that is often inclusive of student, family, community and related conditions.

Contact Veronica Douglas, Louisiana School Counseling Association president-elect-elect, at vdouglas@caddoschools.org.