ASCA National Model

As a trained school counselor, I follow the (Association of School Counselors of America) ASCA National Standards for Ethics, Assessments, and Standards. Below you will find my Master's Program assignments where I dig deeper into each aspect of the ASCA National Model.

Defining the ASCA National Model

This is the ASCA National Model Graphic with brief summaries of each section.

ASCA National Model Pamphlet

The ASCA National Model provides a baseline of duties school counselors follow to ensure students received the best services possible and develop effective school counseling programs.

Implementing the ASCA National Model

DEFINE

Professional Development Goal:
- Identify basic student needs and how the school can help meet those needs.
Internship Experience:
- Identified areas of weakness among students (lack of post-secondary career choice).
- Gathered data on low-achieving students to determine areas for improvement.
Plans for Continued Development:
- Continue collaborating with the counseling team, students, and parents to identify areas of student needs.

MANAGE

Professional Development Goal:
- Create a high school counseling program that targets common student weaknesses.
Internship Experience:
- Developed small-group counseling plans to address student needs.
- Participated in counseling team meetings to implement credit recovery interventions.
- Developed Advisory classroom lessons to target post-secondary planning and academic achievement.
Plans for Continued Development:
- Create and maintain a digital calendar for the counseling team, noting important deadlines, meetings, and scheduled small groups/classroom lessons, and assemblies.
- Seek counseling program improvements to build a more effective and collaborative counseling program.

DELIVER

Professional Development Goal:
- Implement an effective school counseling program that prepares ALL students for life beyond high school.
Internship Experience:
- Delivered small-group counseling lessons to students.
- Discussed student graduation progress and post-secondary planning.
- Provided short-term individual counseling sessions to students.
Plans for Continued Development:
- Continue to develop and improve small-group and classroom lessons.
- Collaborate with school staff and teachers to coordinate delivery of classroom lessons.

ASSESS

Professional Development Goal:
- Gather data to support the need for school counseling programs based on attendance, disciplinary referrals, and academic achievement before and after implementation.
Internship Experience:
- Review progress reports to determine if students are meeting expectations.
- Review attendance records to identify chronically absent students to meet with.
- Utilize pre-/post-assessments in small groups to determine lesson effectiveness.
Plans for Continued Development:
- Gather feedback from supervisors and colleagues to identify areas of confusion and areas for improvement.

Benefits of Implementing the ASCA National Model

Implementing the ASCA National Model benefits school counselors by outlining the proper behaviors and mindsets, mindsets that I wholly believe:

M 1. Every student can learn, and every student can succeed.
M 2. Every student should have access to and opportunity for a high-quality education.
M 3. Every student should graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary opportunities.
M 4. Every student should have access to a school counseling program.
M 5. Effective school counseling is a collaborative process involving school counselors, students, families, teachers, administrators, other school staff and education stakeholders.
M 6. School counselors are leaders in the school, district, state and nation.
M 7. School counseling programs promote and enhance student academic, career and social/emotional outcomes

ASCA National Model: Define

Three sets of school counseling standards define the school counseling profession. These standards help new and experienced school counselors develop, implement and assess their school counseling program to improve student outcomes.

ASCA School Counseling Professional Standards & Competencies

The ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies outline the mindsets and behaviors school counselors need to meet the rigorous demands of the school counseling profession and the needs of pre–K–12 students. These standards and competencies help ensure new and experienced school counselors are equipped to establish, maintain and enhance a school counseling program addressing academic achievement, career planning and social/emotional development.

ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies

Define Reflection

The mindsets and behaviors listed in ASCA’s Student Standards, Mindsets, and Behaviors For Student Success describe how school counselors demonstrate and implement school counseling programs that promote student growth and achievement (ASCA, 2019). Throughout my time as a school counselor in training (SCIT), I’ve spent time with students struggling academically and working on intervention and prevention strategies.

Reviewing Graduation Requirement Progress.
- Discuss the credit recovery process for students receiving Ds and Fs to raise their GPA and satisfy district/state requirements.
- Review remaining required classes.
- Check in with low GPA students regarding current semester grades, offering tutoring and online resources as needed.
Meeting with students at risk of failing classes.
- Upon reviewing several students failing Biology, I realized that many of these students faced a language barrier due to the teacher not being fluent in Spanish. At this realization, these students were moved to a different class with bilingual support.
- Some foreign exchange students not fluent in English face similar problems. For example, one student enrolled in Honors classes was failing all her core classes. Collaborating with my site supervisor, the student, and their parents, we moved her to non-honors classes until she is more fluent and offered strategies to improve her English reading and writing skills.
- Other students showed low academic motivation. So I am meeting with these students once or twice a week to help motivate them and find ways to encourage them to put in the work to bring up their grades. I collaborate with their assigned school counselor to discuss reward systems and internal motivation strategies.
- Another student struggles with mental health and trauma, leading to difficulties connecting with others, a warped sense of self, and negative inner dialogue that affects their academic achievement. I work with this student once a week.
Developing and Delivering Small Group Counseling Lessons.
- For students consistently struggling academically, I formed a small group focused on time management skills, organization skills, study skills, and goal setting. In each lesson, we discuss what prevents students from completing their assignments or preparing for exams. Then we discuss ways to address these obstacles and better balance their time to allow for academics, personal self-care, social life, and families.

Prevention strategies to catch students falling behind academically include:

Involving teachers. Teachers note students at risk of failing classes and offer individual tutoring opportunities.
Communicating with students about available resources. After school tutoring, online academic resources (Khan Academy).

Intervention strategies consist of:

Individual student meetings to check in on progress, set weekly goals, and determine what barriers the student faces that may be preventing them from submitting homework or fully understanding the class content.
Assessing the student’s various Behavior Standards to determine which areas the student needs to strengthen, such as self-management skills and learning strategies (ASCA, 2021).
Collaborating with parents. Informing parents of low grades to discuss intervention strategies.

My Counseling Theories...

Reality Theory. Reality Theory is rooted in the belief that every individual is in control of themselves and is driven by their needs. I communicate this with students by explaining that no one can force them to do anything. Only the student can decide to make the needed changes. But their choices have different results, some good, some bad, that they should be aware of.
Rational-Emotive Behavior Theory (REBT). REBT focuses more on inner thoughts. If students are struggling to meet expectations due to their inner dialogues turning negative, then students must be nurtured to have more positive inner dialogues. In these situations, I use the ABCDEs of REBT by breaking down the triggers for these thoughts and working with the student to dispute the irrational beliefs and replace them with rational thoughts.

References

American School Counselor Association (ASCA) (2019). ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies. Alexandria, VA: Author. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/a8d59c2c-51de-4ec3-a565-a3235f3b93c3/SC-Competencies.pdf

American School Counselor Association (ASCA) (2021). ASCA Student Standards, Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author.

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ASCA National Model: Manage

To be delivered effectively, the school counseling program must be efficiently and effectively managed. The ASCA National Model provides school counselors with program focus and planning tools to guide the design and implementation of a school counseling program that gets results.

Beliefs, Vision, & Mission Statement

Allie Vaquera...

Upholds the belief that all students have the right to respect, dignity, and equitable resources.
Strives to empower students to reach their potential, become lifelong learners, and actively participate in improving humanity's future.
Seeks to empower students with the confidence to achieve their goals.

Her mission is to support students in their academic journeys and social-emotional development by providing individual, group, and classroom guidance, supporting counseling curriculum with school data, and connecting students and families with community resources.

Data-Driven Decisions

As a school counselor in training, Allie Vaquera has...

Created Home Room presentations for high school students to explore career options after speaking with numerous students about their plans after high school. Many students expressed uncertainty about their plans.
Created a presentation for English Language Learners to explain the purpose of ELPAC Testing and address test-taking anxieties.
Engaged with low-achieving students to address their lack of motivation to complete schoolwork, decrease barriers to their education, and support their social-emotional skills. In meetings with these students, Allie Vaquera sought to increase students' inner motivation to seek success and fulfill their potential not only in academics, but in all aspects of life.

ASCA National Model: Deliver

School counselors deliver developmentally appropriate activities and services directly to students or indirectly for students as a result of the school counselor’s interaction with others.

These activities and services help students develop the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success and improve their achievement, attendance and discipline.

Direct Student Services

Direct Student Services involve direct interaction with one or more students. These services include individual counseling, group counseling, family counseling, student education services, classroom guidance lessons, and crisis intervention/assessment/counseling.

Individual Student Planning

Individual Student Planning consists of developing an academic plan based on student needs and school requirements. School counselors review student grades and classes to ensure they are on track. If they are falling behind, goals are set and resources are provided to assist the student in catching up. For High School students, a plan for life after grade school is developed and resources are offered. For many students, this means applying to colleges, universities, or vocational schools.

Responsive Services

Responsive services include crisis counseling and interventions or forms of counseling (individual, group, or family). These services are integral for students struggling with academic performance for various reasons, some examples include substance abuse, physical abuse/neglect, grief from losing a loved one, or mental health struggles. School counselors provide short-term counseling in these instances and refer to outside professionals if long-term or more intensive counseling/therapy is needed. In these instances, school counselors become a resource for students while at school and regularly check-in with students to monitor their progress and needs.

Indirect Student Services

Indirect Student Services involves any activity related to counseling that does not involve direct contact with students. These services include planning & development of counseling lessons and curriculum, consultations with community professionals, and collaboration with other professionals. Of course, confidentiality rights are upheld in instances of consultation and collaboration, unless the student poses a risk to themselves or others, or written permission is granted.

Consultation

Collaboration

Due to the importance of supporting young people, school counselors regularly consult with other school counselors and professionals to ensure the best decisions are made to benefit students. Consultation is a professional relationship between working professionals to inform decisions and ensure legal and ethical policies and laws are upheld. If an ethical dilemma arises, school counselors are encouraged to collaborate with other counseling professionals to ensure the best possible solution is selected.

School counselors collaborate with school stakeholders (parents/guardians, teachers, and administration) to ensure students receive the support and resources they need to find success. Collaboration consists of professionals working together to provide the resources and support students need. If students work with a therapist or counselor outside of school, the student/parent may give consent for the school counselor to collaborate with this professional to provide consist support in the school environment.

Deliver Reflection

Every school can find opportunities to grow and improve for the betterment of students. With the continued growth of society, schools should grow and adjust student expectations and support to match student evolving needs.

ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors

The ASCA Student Standards guide school counselors in ensuring equitable opportunities for students and improving student outcomes. Policy changes, small group activities, direct student services, and indirect student services can implement necessary changes.

The mindsets set forth by ASCA have been simple for me to adapt because they are beliefs I strive to uphold in my daily life. These beliefs boil down to respect and individual potential. Every living being should be treated with respect regardless of their background, beliefs, and even actions. Believing in an individual's potential means that everyone is capable of growth and change, even those who commit crimes. But for those individuals to create change, they need to be given the opportunity. When working with students, some have mentioned they have upcoming court dates due to crimes they have committed. I never let this affect my treatment of students. I ensure they know I am here to support them and believe that, if they are willing to learn from their experience, they can move forward towards a brighter future. Especially as young people, they have their whole life in front of them to make changes and learn from past mistakes.

School Counselors maintain the following mindsets for all students. School counselors believe....

In the development of the whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional, and physical well-being.
The school environment should support a sense of acceptance, respect, support, and inclusion for self and others.
In a positive attitude toward work and learning.
Self-confidence is key to the ability to succeed.
In using our abilities to the fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes.
Postsecondary education and lifelong learning are necessary for long-term success.

Prevention & Intervention Strategies

Using prevention and intervention strategies that are evidence-based is integral to ensuring no harm is caused to students. When identifying potential areas that need improvement, whether among school policies or students' personal experiences, techniques used to improve targeted areas should be backed by peer-reviewed studies that have proven effective without risk of harm. Implementing this practice has been a simple process. When a target area is identified, I refer to textbooks used in my previous classes and other academic resources online to support my choice of prevention and intervention strategies. For larger-scale changes, collaborating with the entire counseling team and relevant school staff is another step taken to ensure best practices.

Some of the textbooks and resources I regularly turn to are:

Brown, T., Armstrong, S. A., Bore, S., & Simpson, C. (2017). Using an Ethical Decision-Making Model to Address Ethical Dilemmas in School Counseling. Journal of School Counseling, 15(13).
Byrd, R. T., & Erford, B. T. (2014). Applying Techniques to Common Encounters in School Counseling: A Case-Based Approach. Pearson Education, Inc.
Curry, J. R., & Milsom, A. (2017). Career and College Readiness Counseling in P-12 Schools, Second Edition. Springer Publishing Company.
Egan, Gerard, & Reese, Robert J. (2018). The Skilled Helper: A Problem-Management and Opportunity-Development Approach to Helping (Eleventh Edition). Cengage Learning.
Jones-Smith, Elsie (2019). Culturally Diverse Counseling: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications Inc.
Kress, V., Paylo, M., & Stargell, N. (2019). Counseling children and adolescents. Pearson Education.
Studer, Jeannine R (2015). The Essential School Counselor in a Changing Society, SAGE.

Personal & Professional Growth Opportunities

As a school counselor, regularly assessing areas I can improve is part of the job. When conducting small group lessons, I build in pre- and post-assessments to determine how students feel the group lessons impacted their lives in the targeted area. I also encourage students to speak up if they want to further explore different areas of the lesson or if there are topics they feel would be helpful. Collaboration with students, parents, teachers, and school staff is a great way to ensure my continued growth. If there are areas I feel uncertain of or less confident in, I make a note to revisit these areas by conducting research or having discussions with relevant professionals. I've also created a personal check-in assessment so I can evaluate how I feel throughout the years in terms of my work ethic, self-care, and areas for growth.

ASCA National Model: Assess

To achieve the best results for students, school counselors regularly assess their program to:

■ determine its effectiveness

■ inform improvements to their school counseling program design and delivery

■ show how students are different as a result of the school counseling program

School counselors also self–assess their own mindsets and behaviors to inform their professional development and annually participate in a school counselor performance appraisal with a qualified administrator. The ASCA National Model provides the following tools to guide assessment and appraisal.

School Counselor Competencies Assessment

Actively reflecting on the personal implementation of school counseling competencies allows school counselors to determine their areas of strength and weaknesses so they can develop a plan to improve weaknesses. While there is no official assessment geared toward school counselors' beliefs and practices, reviewing the ASCA Mindsets, Behaviors, & Competencies is a good place to start. When reflecting, school counselors can make note of how they implement each mindset, how they apply the professional foundation competencies, how they implement direct and indirect student services, and how they involve planning and assessment.

When assessing the school counseling program, school counselors can use the ASCA Comprehensive School Counseling Program Assessment Tool to determine how the current counseling program meets the ASCA standards and identify areas for improvement. Improvement areas can then be brought to the counseling team to discuss how to implement changes.

During my time interning at a high school, I identified a lack of post-secondary planning in many 10th, 11th, and some 12th-grade students. Upon discovering this, I went to my site supervisor to discuss this weakness and how we could potentially address this need. We ultimately decided that creating a Home Room presentation and activity for students would be the best way to reach all students and identify students needing more individualized guidance. I then created a presentation walking teachers and students through the process of taking a value and interest assessment that connects students with comprehensive information regarding career paths they match with or would like to explore. Once students have their top career selections, they complete a survey that sends their choices to the counselors. There is also a section of the survey where students can note if they would like further guidance on post-secondary plans.

School Counselor Performance Appraisal

School counselors can use data and student, parent, or supervisor feedback to determine their performance effectiveness. When utilizing data, school counselors can take a look at the performance and behavioral referrals of students they oversee. If students generally meet the standards set forth by the district, this is a good sign that the school counseling program and the school counselor's work are effective overall. When working in small groups, data regarding the target area (usually academic performance or behavioral referrals) is compared before and after the small group. Positive changes would then support effectiveness. Self-assessment tools should also be used to reflect on an individual's personal view of their performance. I've been developing a set of questions and evaluation areas to review throughout each school year. This assessment is meant to help me ensure that I can balance my needs, my mental health, and the needs of the profession so I may maintain a healthy lifestyle, continue learning about the counseling profession, and perform my best when delivering support to students, their families, and the school. And, of course, taking time to discuss with peers and supervisors any constructive criticism they may have of my performance will be taken as an opportunity to seek growth.

At my internship site, I delivered several small groups focused on career development and academic skills (organization, time management, goal setting, and study habits). To determine my effectiveness, I gathered academic data through progress reports before and after the interventions as well as brief pre- and post-assessments targeting ASCA Student Mindsets to determine how students' knowledge and confidence in targeted areas changed. The first two small groups I attempted to start did not go as well as I hoped, but I didn't let that stop me. I debriefed with my site supervisor to determine what changes I could make to do better the next time. This is the mindset I hold when it comes to unsuccessful interventions - I learn from what did and did not work, make improvements to my plan, and try again.