Volume 44
Number 6
www.masca.org
February 2008
President’s Message: The School Counselor as Advocate
JENNIFER J. McGUIRE MASCA President
I
s it February already? Each year we celebrate National School Counseling Week during the first week of February. This year’s theme is “School Counselors: Creating Pathways to Success.” I hope you were able to take some time to promote school counseling in your school. Perhaps you used some of the resources made available to us through ASCA. As school counselors, we wear many hats. Our titles may be the same, but our jobs differ greatly because we work on different levels or in different types of schools. And we all know that the expectations of school counselors vary greatly from one school system to the next. The counselor to student ratio, for example, is one area of variation. The appropriate ratio is often a topic for discussion among counselors, especially when we are faced with new demands. Similarly, how the administration views the school counselor’s role in MCAS varies greatly from one school system to another. It is always interesting to meet counselors from other schools or states and find out what their typical day looks like (if you can even figure out what a typical day is for a school counselor). Despite our varying job descriptions, both written and implicit, there is one role we all play —ADVOCATE. You are
probably thinking of our task of advocating for our students. Clearly, this is a fundamental responsibility of school counselors. But in this case I am referring to our role as advocates for ourselves and for our profession. All of us — those currently in the field as well as those who have retired after long careers and those just embarking on our profession—have been asked, “What do school counselors do?” We must make our mission known to our stakeholders: students, parents, administrators, school boards, and community members. We must make them aware that we are partners in student achievement and that without us, our students would be at a disadvantage. Counselors working to implement the MA Model have learned that if our role
is to be viewed as absolutely necessary, we must demonstrate that what we do makes an impact. Collecting data is not something nice to do. It is necessary. Advocating for our profession means that we must go beyond what we normally do. It is in our nature, as school counselors, to help our students, to work on their behalf, and to contribute to our schools and school communities. We need to take this a step further. We must bring what we do for students to the attention of those not directly receiving our services in our communities, at the state level, and nationally. If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved in advocacy at the state and national level, please contact any MASCA Governing Board member. ■
Congratulations, Bob Bob Bardwell, immediate past president of MASCA, has been elected to serve as Secondary Level Vice President on the 2008-2009 Governing Board of our national organization, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). Currently, Bob serves as past president of MASCA and as president-elect of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling. Bob is director of guidance and student support services at Monson High School in Monson. Congratulations, Bob. ■
Inside . . . Advocating for School Counselors By Robert Bardwell ......................... 4 Recommendations for a New Age By Kim Gangwisch-Marsh ............... 8 The Time for Advocacy Is Now By Thom Hughart .......................... 18
Membership Form........................12 MASCA Awards 2008 .................. 13 Technology Safety....................... 15 Directory Order Form ................. 16 MA Model Institute .................... 17