ArSCA’s History of Advocacy & Learning

Arkansas School Counselor Association (ArSCA) has a rich history. In 1946, the first conference of Arkansas school counselors was held February 14-16 in the Senate Chamber of the State Capitol. Twenty-eight school counselors attended the conference and dinner meeting. J.W. Hull was the principle speaker. The same year, several school counselors met in Little Rock and developed "My Educational Plan," a student record form. The University of Arkansas sponsored "The Work of the Counselor" workshops presented by Dr. Dolph Camp, State Supervisor of Occupational Information and Guidance Services, and Dr. Dana Cotton, Director of Placement at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. By 1950, school counselors were required to have 15 graduate hours of counseling courses for employment in schools. Hugh Lovett was appointed State Supervisor of Guidance at the Arkansas Department of Education. ArSCA would later name a scholarship in his memory for individuals training to become school counselors. This scholarship is given annually by ArSCA. Additional school counselor workshops in the 1950s included "Testing as a Tool in Pupil Planning," "Records in Assisting Pupils to Plan for College" and "Cooperation between High School Counselors and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors." In 1959, Arkansas had 57 full-time and 15 half-time counselors in secondary schools with a required ratio of 1:1000. The same year, the State Department of Education abolished the Service section of the Vocational Division and created the Division of Guidance Services.
 
The next few decades showed progress for Arkansas School Counselors. The counselor-to-student ratio dropped to 1:470 in 1960-61. In 1962, 50% of Arkansas high school students had a counselor. Dropout rates decreased by 9% in schools with guidance programs over the preceding year. In 1964, Delma Turner, supervisor of Elementary Guidance Services, was added to the state staff. Six elementary school counselors were employed in pilot programs distributed over the State. ArSCA became a charter division of  the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) in 1965. By 1972, 30 full-time elementary and 35 middle school counselors sent activity reports to the Department of Education. In 1974, a 1:425 counselor-student ratio for secondary schools was implemented. Local school districts funded 120/557 school counseling programs in 1979. The 1983, Arkansas legislative session on education passed new school standards that required counselors K-12 in schools. A joint ArSCA and Counselor Educators Task Force proposed standards for elementary and secondary school guidance and counseling programs. In 1990, Act 908 was enacted to ensure school counselors were spending 75% of their time in direct student contact.
 
ArSCA has continued to be a support for school counselors. In March 1999, Arkansas school counselors and the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) responded to the Westside-Jonesboro school shooting. ArSCA hosted an all-day crisis conference with Rich Lieberman. June 2000, ArSCA summer conferences began with a pilot conference in Jonesboro, attended by approximately 160 school counselors. The conference included two national speakers: Carol Dahir on school counselor standards and Sam Gladding on small group work. ArSCA Technology chair Jim Yeager spoke about technology and the school counselor. ArSCA held its 17^th annual conference last July.
 
On October 14-17, 2001, ArSCA and ADE provided NOVA Basic Training in Jacksonville. In 2002, Alicia Donner served on the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards (NBPTS) committee for school counselors of students ages 3-18+. This certification provides professional and economic rewards to school counselors. Jim Yeager, ArSCA’s first technology chairperson, coordinated a technology camp for school counselors at Pottsville School District and set up the ArSCA listserv as a means of communication between all school counselors in the state. Current ArSCA Technology chair Robin Finley has continued technology trainings for school counselors and maintains the ArSCA listserv with the ArSCA Technology team. In 2005, ArSCA past president Linda Storm received an ArSCA Prevention Grant, which provided counseling/guidance books for school counselors in Arkansas. In 2007, ArSCA voted to increase from five to six regions: Central, North Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest. July 2015, the ArSCA membership voted to become independent of the state counseling association. In direct alignment with ASCA, this move has allowed for greater autonomy with authority for direct control over ArSCA activities and determination of the course of direction taken for school counseling. The independent ArSCA is a 501(c3) nonprofit organization. ArSCA hired a lobbyist, office manager and website designer to better meet membership needs.
 
Alicia Donner is ArSCA historian.