School Counseling

School Counselor Roles & Responsibilities

The role of the school counselor is driven by the American School Counselor Association’s (ASCA) National Model and Framework. The school counselor’s responsibilities include:

creating an inclusive, safe and nurturing environment for all students
engaging in individual student academic planning and goal setting
delivering school counseling classroom lessons throughout the school year
providing short-term counseling to students
making referrals for long-term support for students
collaborating with families/teachers/ administrators/ community for student success
advocating for students at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, 504 and other student-focused meetings
conducting data analysis to identify student needs and challenges
acting as a systems change agent to improve equity and access, achievement and opportunities for all students

Support for Students

School counseling programs include support for students at all levels by:

providing proactive approaches to meeting the needs of students through classroom lessons focused on topics to support social-emotional, college/career readiness, and academic goals
creating opportunities for individual student counseling sessions based on self referral, staff, or parent referral
implementing small groups based on topics to support student needs
preparing students for the transitions to the next academic level
planning and coordinating school wide activities that are designed to build school community
consulting with parents/guardians and educators to support students academic and social emotional growth
collaborating on school management teams to advocate for access and equity for all students

Student Confidentiality

Conversations with a school counselor are kept confidential unless the information is a threat or harm to self or others. Examples include but are not limited to:

Child abuse, sexual abuse or neglect
Crime or serious offense
Sexual harassment by a student or school employee
Health risk to yourself or another person

Graduation Requirements

To access your student’s progress toward graduation:

Log on to HCPSS Connect.
Select the appropriate student (if more than one) using the arrow at the top left corner
Select Course History from the left navigation menu
Graduation status/progression will display

Full details on graduation requirements can be found in the current course catalog. See Howard County Board of Education Policy 8030 Graduation Requirements and Policy 8020 Grading and Reporting: Middle and High School for more information.