How to Become a School Counselor

While counselors however offer bookish guidance, today's school counselor does a lot more than than you imagine when you recall "guidance counselors."

The ASCA breaks downwardly school counseling into three intersection areas: Academic, Personal-Social, and Career Post-Secondary (ie. helping students navigate academic difficulties, personal problems, and programme what to do after high school).

But what y'all may non realize is that they're involved in these areas not only on a student to student footing, just likewise helping teachers and staff handle these problems, counseling parents, and at times even helping shape school policy.

USC Rossier School of Education info

Principal of Education in School Counseling

The Academy of Southern California Rossier School of Education offers a Primary of Teaching in School Counseling online for aspiring K-12 school counselors. The program tin can exist completed in less than two years and there is no GRE requirement.

  • No GRE required
  • Prepares you for school counseling credential
  • Bachelor's degree required

NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development info

Primary of Arts in Counseling and Guidance

Larn more about NYU Steinhardt's online MA caste that prepares you to become a school counselor in as few as 18 months. Graduates can pursue certification and employment in pre-K–12 schools. Bachelor's req.

  • Complete in as few equally xviii months.
  • Pursue school counselor certification.
  • Study bilingual school counseling (optional).
  • GRE scores are non required.

Morgridge Higher of Education Online info

Master of Arts in School Counseling

With no GRE required, earn your Main's in Schoolhouse Counseling online in as few as 24 months from the University of Denver. Gain valuable skills through a curriculum centered on social justice and designed to adhere to the standards set up by CACREP.

  • No GRE required
  • Live, online classes
  • Consummate in equally few equally 24 months

They're a key function of ensuring educatee academic success, despite outside factors, and they're primal to making sure pupil rights are upheld and that schools are condom, supportive spaces for learners.

Already a school counselor and looking for resources? Bank check out this School Counseling Toolkit!

Steps to Condign a School Advisor

School counselors require a primary'due south degree from an accredited institution (usually in a field relevant to school counseling) along with state certification to kickoff practicing. The following are the 4 steps that are necessary to become a practicing school counselor. Go along in mind that educational activity and certification requirements are different for each state.

  1. Earn your Bachelors Caste

    The first step towards condign a school counselor involves obtaining a available'southward degree. Although it doesn't necessarily have to be in a field directly related to counseling, the coursework and topics covered in didactics and counseling majors will help fix y'all up for success every bit you continue downward the path to become a school counselor.

  2. Earn Your Master'southward Degree in School Counseling

    Afterward obtaining a bachelors, it is ordinarily imperative for aspiring school counselors to proceeds a masters, as most states require that they practise so. School counseling masters programs typically teach practical skills such as facilitating student development, conducting individual and group counseling, and working with parents. Masters in school counseling programs want to best prepare their students to first their career on the correct foot.

  3. Obtain Clinical Training Hours for Certification Requirements

    While completing your masters plan in school counseling, it will exist required of you to complete supervised internship hours in a school setting, typically nether a certified schoolhouse advisor.

  4. Pass School Counselor Exams and Gain Certifications Required by your Country

    As school advisor examinations are mostly land-specific, please consult The American School Advisor Association'due south list of state certification requirements.

What does a School Counselor do?

A schoolhouse counselor steers students on the route to bookish success by evaluating and implementing a program to best fit each educatee's needs and goals. This part greatly exercises leadership and collaborative skills to ensure a shine educational experience for all students. School counselors may as well use other resources, including standardized examination results and other student information to accurately plan, monitor, and manage a pupil'southward development.

In addition to academic excellence, a schoolhouse counselor prepares students to exist career ready by helping them gain the desired skills and competencies. For the students who are uncertain about which career field they desire to enter into, a school counselor enables them to make well-informed decisions.

School counselors also work with parents, teachers, and community organizations, bringing people together and collaborating with them. They may write up referrals and acquit consultations to provide indirect services to students.

Guidance Counselor vs Schoolhouse Advisor

The deviation between guidance counselor and school counseling lies in the chore role associated with each championship. Historically, guidance advisor was the term more than commonly used – and the emphasis of guidance counselors in school systems was to assist students on their pathway from schoolhouse to college or career. Today, school advisor is the more prevalent term and the task functions of a schoolhouse counselor inside an didactics organization is to help students in a more holistic style – from higher and career preparedness to helping them with mental health issues and much more.

Job Functions for Different Grade Levels

The part of a school counselor varies with unlike grade levels. In an unproblematic school setting, the counselor's role varies widely. They may help identify with many complex bug, such as family and personal/social developmental issues, too as less serious bug that we can imagine an boilerplate half dozen-twelvemonth-onetime may confront.Elementary school counselors offer didactics, prevention and intervention services equally their main function.

Middle schoolhouse counselors back up students during rapid growth, development, and change. They assistance apply the lessons that they learn in the classroom to practically use the skills and knowledge learned in real life. During this phase, students balance academics while finding identities and exploring dissimilar interests and hobbies.

High school counselors mainly focus on academic guidance rather than personal/social development, unlike the other 2 grade levels. While preparing to get accepted into a higher, in that location are many things they will need aid with: career decisions, college information, sending in the necessary documents, graduation, and so on.

Necessary skills for most positions include:

  • Leadership
  • Collaboration
  • Patience
  • Advice
  • Relationship Building
  • Empathy

Schoolhouse Advisor Salary Information

According to the BLS as of May 2019, School and Career Counselors are expected to earn an boilerplate almanac bacon of $56,310. Salaries depend largely on the advisor in question'due south work environment and geographical location, so be sure to enquiry according to the setting you wish to practise and the city in which you live.

Demand for School Counselors

According to the BLS, the demand for school counselors is faster than the national average for all occupations, with job outlook increasing 8% over the time period of 2018-2028.

School Advisor Shortages in the Usa

A shortage area is defined by the U.Due south. Section of Education equally a office in which "in that location is an inadequate supply" of qualified professionals. The Section allows states to identify their own shortage areas, just encourages them to follow a prescribed methodology based on unfilled positions, positions filled past professionals with irregular certifications, and positions filled by professionals certified in other areas. Because the Department allows states to study shortages as they wish, some states only study teacher shortages while others include administrative shortages as well. Please reference each land's department of education to larn more about their item shortage areas.

An American Schoolhouse Counselor Association (ACSA) written report depicting facts most the state of school advisor positions across the United States revealed some interesting statistics, including the fact that 11 million high school students are enrolled in a schoolhouse without enough school counselors. It would announced based on this study that, in some states and districts, significant school advisor shortages exist.

Transitioning from Educational activity to School Counseling

Sometimes, teachers have a want to begin working with students in a unlike capacity so equally educators and seek to enter the school counseling profession. Although there are some common skill sets shared betwixt the ii roles, teachers who aspire to become school counselors must obtain educational and certification requirements to become practicing school counselors. Below are a few interviews with educators who made the transition to working with students as a advisor.

"I savor being an important function of my school community and making lasting impressions with the work that I do with students, staff and parents."—Andrea Burston, 8 Questions with a School Counselor

"I became a school counselor rather than choosing to work in an office first and foremost because I'chiliad an educator at heart, merely also considering I prefer prevention piece of work to intervention work. I e'er believed that if nosotros were to give our children tools preventatively then we could avert some of their desperation when they're in crises."—Barbara Gruener, Outside the Classroom with a Schoolhouse Counselor

Interested in reading more than nigh school counselor career transitions? Catch upwards on the latest Outside the Classroom and 8 Questions interviews.

USC Master's in School Counseling online — No GRE

The University of Southern California Rossier School of Education offers a Master of Teaching in School Counseling online for aspiring K-12 school counselors. The plan can be completed in less than two years and there is no GRE requirement.

  • No GRE required
  • Prepares yous for schoolhouse counseling credential
  • Bachelor's degree required

End of page