Visioning for your Comprehensive School Counseling Program

School counselors lead, in part, by advocating for students, teachers and families in an effort to promote learning and positive development of students. However, in the midst of meeting everyday challenges and needs, school counselors can find themselves more in a reactive and not proactive mode. Having a working comprehensive school counseling program provides direction for the school counselors and informs other stakeholders of their roles in making school counseling effective. An essential starting point and anchor for a comprehensive program is the vision statement. This is short, simple, inspirational and focuses the school counselor’s efforts to serve students. Without a vision, the school counselor risks being in a reactive pattern and being off track on how to best serve all students.

A vision generates an aspirational picture of what is to be achieved, grounded in values. For the school counselor, it informs and directs the comprehensive program to prioritize, while guiding pertinent stakeholders about what the counseling team is working toward. Our professional identity assists us in understanding what we value. We then communicate those values in a picture or vision of what we want to see for our students. The vision statement serves as a critical reference to drive the strategic efforts, synchronize collaborations, prioritize work efforts, focus resources and avoid distractors that can derail the vision.

A vision is different than a mission statement. Instead of stating what is being done now, the vision emphasis is on what is to come, what will happen. The following are some steps to assist school counselors in shaping a vision for their comprehensive program.

1. Know and understand your environment.
   Gather information that informs you about the pressing needs or issues that impact student success. Also identify groups or individuals who may not be represented or may experience being marginalized. Consider disaggregating the school’s data to note behavioral concerns or academic limitations that may exist (these aid in developing your strategic goals). Also identify resources the students or school community have that can be leveraged for the benefit of others. This is your starting perspective.
2. Know where your leadership team is headed.
   Tying in the comprehensive school counseling program to the school’s direction is essential What goals has the principal set for the school? What are her priorities and objectives? Being a part of the team is an opportunity to join together to have a shared vision and direction.
3. Understand your role and values as a school counselor.
   School counselors make a difference in schools! Look to the ASCA National Model – it informs school counselors about their purpose in schools, explains how to work within the school context and offers tools to work effectively for the benefit of stakeholders.
4. Create an image of what your school can be.
   Take a moment to create an animated picture in your mind about what kind of school environment you want to manifest. Note what you are valuing. What does the school climate feel like? How are students successful given the school’s context? Consider how the different kinds of students experience their school community. Note the feelings that the picture stirs within you (we’re looking for passion!).
5. Build your vision statement.
   Capture the essence of your movie. Keep in mind those passionate and inspirational feelings, for they are the fuel behind the vision. In your statement, use future verb tense (e.g., students will engage in a community-based mentoring program…). Remember, mission statements are what we do now and vision statements communicate what will come. Keep the statement simple, no more than three sentences, and be inspirational.
6. Field test your drafted vision statement.
   Ask others to listen to you read the drafted vision statement. Are you passionate about it? Do they become passionate, too? Can your listener (parents, teachers, and community members) imagine this state of affairs in the future? Discern which feedback from others empowers or strengthens your vision statement.

Having a clear, simple, passionate and brief vision serves as your keystone or anchor for your comprehensive program. It engages others to understand and support your work efforts to achieve your strategic objectives. Further, use your vision statement to recruit allies who can aid in operationalizing your program. I hope you would be willing to share your vision statement with me! I want to hold hope for your efforts to serve all of our students.

James R. Morton, Jr., Ph.D., NCC, is an assistant professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Contact him at jrmortonjr2@alaska.edu.