ASCA’s Online Resources

This past July while attending the ASCA conference in Denver, during multiple sessions I was using ASCA’s website and the conference app. The ASCA Conference app was a great tool with the convenience of having all the information – agenda, my chosen schedule, and notes that I had created – accessible at my fingertips. The added convenience of having the conference center map, presenters’ background information, tracking of other attendees, and sponsors was an extra bonus. I also appreciated the ongoing notifications throughout the conference to keep me up to date on what was happening and the reminders of special events. This really displayed how our association is working for us and giving us many means to access the important information we need.

Again, a couple of weeks ago as I attended the South Dakota Counselor Connections Workshop, I was reminded of all the valuable tools and information quickly available on the ASCA website. A session I attended focused on school counselor ethics, which then had me referencing ASCA’s website and pulling up the Ethical Standards for School Counselors, as we were discussing various ethical issues common in schools. This Legal and Ethical Section on the website provides numerous articles, webinars, and handouts that are easily available to any member. As school counselors, we should all review the ethical tips and ethics FAQ on that page, taking time to refresh our minds and become very familiar with our ethical standards and concerns that we deal with every day. The website also offers an area to post a question to an online community and get feedback and answers from other professionals. It is great to know that, as a member of ASCA, you have quick access to all these important resources.

Another session topic was School Counselors and Administrator Advocacy, in which the presenters talked about the importance of having an administrator on board with your comprehensive program. The ASCA website offers a large amount of information dealing with the counselor/administrator relationship, including a College Board document that a great tool to read and share with your principal. This document takes a closer look at the relationship between counselor and administrator. The report is based on surveys were collected from administrators and counselors, focusing on what it takes to have a successful relationship. Within this survey, approximately 2,300 counselors and principals shared their perceptions and characteristics of a good relationship between the counselor and principal.

Other great items within this topic would be the appropriate activities for counselors and the document “The Essential Roles of the School Counselor” as well as why we need school counselors at each level. The page provides a great chart for explaining appropriate and inappropriate duties for school counselors, laid out in a simple format that can be used to share with administration. ASCA also provides videos for administrators on specifics such as how counselors contribute to successful schools, what a school counselor does and considering counselors as partners in student success, to name a few.

When you are looking for reliable and accessible information or tools to support your school counseling program and our profession, don’t forget to check out ASCA’s online resources available to members. If you haven’t been on the website lately, I encourage you to take a look again and appreciate that our organization works hard to keep up to date information availble for its members.