ing and clicking, a blank spreadsheet, the sum and sort functions and very simple formulas to produce the data listed above. I did this all in a few hours one evening. Anyone with a spreadsheet of data can find interesting facts, trends, isolated cases and outcomes validation and can present their most interesting or pointed findings simply using percentages and charts. Microsoft Excel did all of the heavy lifting while I pointed and clicked and typed a bit. School counselors outnumber Florida school social workers and school psychologists combined. Yet, I can recall professional school counselors over the years discussing the influence of social workers and psychologists with envy that would belie their lesser numbers than school counselors have. Of course, as a recent association president, I have to ask about the services and value for membership their associations offer with their high percentage of members and understand that our recent spikes in membership must be related to a perception among our colleagues that joining a professional association has benefits. I continue to see that our increasing numbers and representation of a larger proportion of school counselors is correlated to more and diverse services, professional development, partnerships, activity and influence. The more school counselor voices sing the same song, the greater our opportunities to influence school, district, public policy and legislation. School counselors around the nation are increasingly empowered. In Florida, we are seeing evidence of this in the recent growth in FSCA membership and interest from a variety of potential partners. A review of this data seems to point to the strength gathered from being well-organized, understanding and pursuing one’s mission, being persistent, having a single vision and working a strategic plan targeted to that mission. It is not about sheer volume but about working smarter as FSCA is learning to do.
florida school counselor
36% Elementary (PK, K-5 or 6)
FIGURE 4: SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF 14% Exceptional Education Teachers
3% Other Teachers 3% School Counselors 40% Elementary (PK, K-5 or 6)
1%
Social Wokers
1%
School Psychologists
2% Librarians/ Audio-Visual Workers
I continue to see that our increasing numbers and representation of a larger proportion of school counselors is correlated to more and diverse services, professional development, partnerships, activity and influence. There was a lot of data and not all data is worth mining and reporting and not all data even when reported is meaningful or useful. There was much more data about instructional staff, noninstructional staff, county-by-county analyses and the like that I could have mined and made comparisons about.
FALL 2008
However, most was irrelevant. Being selective is important as is developing useful questions that the data can explain or answer or direct further inquiry. Even among what I chose to report above, some of it has more “face validity”, i.e., it looks more interesting and meaningful, than it may actually be. I am not smarter than the average school counselor but I was an early convert to the power of data and have honed some meager skills to have that power on my side. While the knowledge that I am not smarter than the average school counselor is not news to me, it is good to engage in an activity that reminds me that data can help me learn, plan, prove my point, make better decisions, influence, strengthen my effectiveness and validate my life’s work. ■ Madelyn Isaacs, Ph.D. Past-President, FSCA and Professor, Counseling, FGCU
9