Congratulations Georgia RAMP Schools

This March, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) announced a record breaking 25 Georgia schools as Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP). These schools will be honored during a special ceremony at the American School Counselor Association’s Annual Conference in Atlanta this summer for making an exemplary commitment to their school counseling programs. The RAMP designation, awarded for aligning with the criteria in the ASCA National Model, recognizes schools committed to delivering a comprehensive, data-informed school counseling program and an exemplary educational environment. This year’s Georgia RAMP honorees join nearly 1,200 schools nationwide as ASCA RAMP recipients.

The RAMP application process is the culmination of successfully implementing the ASCA National Model framework to show evidence of direct and indirect services to students, program planning and improved student outcomes in the school counseling program. This year’s 25 Georgia RAMP honorees have shown their commitment to students and the school counseling profession. By using data to drive their program development and implementation, all students can achieve success. RAMP designation distinguishes these schools and encourages school counselors nationwide to strive for excellence. Research findings indicate fully implemented school counseling programs are associated with a range of positive student educational and behavioral outcomes.

A.L. Burruss Elementary School

Archer High School

Beacon Hill Middle School

Campbell Middle School

Cooper Middle School

Douglas County High School

MH Mason Elementary School

Dunleith Elementary School

Garrett Middle School

Glennwood Elementary School

Gwin Oaks Elementary School

Hickory Hills Elementary School

Hiram High School

J.J. Daniell Middle School

Lithia Springs High School

Nebo Elementary School

Oakhurst Elementary School

Palmer Middle School

Park Street Elementary School

Red Top Middle School

Talley Street Upper Elementary School

Turner Middle School

West Side Elementary School

Westchester Elementary

Wheeler High School

Stress is inevitable, burnout is preventable: A conceptual guide for novice school counselors

Ashley D. Cosby, CosbyA@fultonschools.org

School counselors are an essential part of student success. School counselors collaborate and work with faculty, staff members, and stakeholders to promote students' academic, personal, social, and emotional wellness (ASCA, 2019). As a result of the considerable responsibility that school counselors have in schools, often, their role has been misinterpreted by school leadership, parents, faculty, and staff. For that reason, school counselors endure role conflict and role ambiguity, which often lead to school counselor burnout (Holman et al., 2019). Burnout is a negative psychological experience for individuals involving feelings of distress, and discomfort. Burnout is characterized by three essential features, exhaustion, cynicism and feelings of detachment, and lack of accomplishment which are experienced due to chronic job stress (Leiter & Maslach, 2004; Maslach & Leiter, 2017). Maslach & Leiter (2016) assert that burnout can lead to healthrelated challenges, including the risk of mental health disorders, poor work performance, low self-esteem, fatigue, exhaustion, and insomnia.

Factors Contributing to School Counselor Burnout

Maslach & Goldberg (1998) assert that the school counseling environment is where "the demands of the work are high, but the resources to meet those demands are low," which places school counselors at greater risk of experiencing burnout. School counselors encounter significant challenges with burnout considering the job demands that often include the assignment of noncounseling tasks and large student-to-counselor ratios (Moyer, 2011). School counselors face increasing difficulty managing external demands when no autotomy exists regarding what tasks to prioritize and how much time can be delegated to each task (Holman et al., 2019). ).

Lack of autonomy can occur when administrators insist that school counselors work on tasks they deem essential, which may oppose the ASCA National Model. School counselors may not have time to conduct necessary tasks to develop students academically, socially, emotionally, or through careers through intentional needs-based programming. Lack of autonomy may contribute to job stress which could lead to burnout (Holman et al., 2019).

Novice school counselors may experience conflict due to the incongruence between their role as school counselors and their graduate training (Mullen et al. 2018). As a result of the contradictions between school counseling practice and role expectations of school leadership, school counselors could experience stress leading to burnout which could impact job satisfaction (Mullen et al., 2018). Fye et al. (2020) illustrated the relationship between individual and organizational factors of school counselor burnout. The authors found that novice school counselors, who have fewer years of experience, are at greater risk of experiencing burnout. Falls Holman and Grubbs (2018) assert that school counselors with less than 10 years of experience are more likely to experience burnout.

The purpose of this article is to introduce novice school counselors to practical methods that can lead to increased sustainability in school counseling. These methods discussed are defined and explicated within the confines of a conceptual framework and explained through the lens of a school counselor. Furthermore, this article is written for two reasons. First, to help mitigate the impact of burnout on novice school counselors who are most vulnerable in the initial years of their professional practice. And secondly, to share tools that are essential in professional practice to navigate job responsibilities.

Conceptual Framework

The steps in this proposed conceptual framework build upon a review of previous literature and its implications for mitigating school counselor burnout. This conceptual framework highlights the importance that, if addressed early, novice school counselors can engage in burnout prevention strategies as they navigate schools and school systems. Addressing burnout early can inhibit its development therefore positively impacting the school counseling workforce (Bardhoshi et al., 2022).

1.Steps to combating burnout:

2. Determine Organizational Fit

3. Create Community

4. Establish a Self-Care Routine

5. Seek Supervision

Determine Organizational Fit

As school counselors-in-training enter the job market, it is vital that they assess if a school and school district is the right organizational fit. Evans Zalewski (2022) references Maslach's Areas of Work Life Model which indicates that to avoid burnout, there must be a fit between the individual and the organization in the following areas— workload, control, recognition, community, fairness, and values-aligned work. Avoiding burnout entails reducing the amount of time working outside of scheduled work hours, taking a moment of respite during the day, and advocating for smaller caseload sizes and ASCA-aligned roles and duties.

As school counselors enter the job market, it is important that they assess the climate and culture of a school and school system. How does school leadership understand the role of the school counselor? What fair-share duties are school counselors responsible for? How much autonomy do school counselors have over their time and the implementation of their school counseling program? Does the school’s perception of the role of the school counselor align with best practices as defined by ASCA.

School leaders’ responses to these questions will indicate their perceived view of the role and function of the school counselor. While these questions do not give the full scope of how school counselors can be utilized within a school, school counselors should consider the responses to these questions regarding their own preferences within a professional setting.

Create Community

Community is defined as “a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society” (Merriam-Webster, 2023). As novice school counselors, it is vital that one creates a community of support to help navigate areas where one may lack expertise. This includes but is not limited to colleagues within and outside of school, professors, parents, former classmates, parents, and community stakeholders. Bardhoshi et al. (2022) indicated that support from school communities is a vital protective factor for school counselor burnout. Evans-Zalewski (2022) indicated that creating meaningful connections with others can also aid in burnout prevention.

Establishing a supportive community is a fundamental aspect of development as a school counselor. The ASCA National Model (2019) states that collaboration, the act of working together to reach a shared goal is key to the success of a school counseling program. By establishing this community, school counselors improve students’ academic, social, emotional, and career development (ASCA, 2019). By establishing a network of communal support, school counselors can foster a school environment that supports their school counseling program, professional development as a school counselor, and student outcomes.

Establishing a self-care routine

As school counselors help students navigate meeting the needs of school leadership, staff members, students, and their families, it is vital that they too establish measures to care for themselves and their own mental health. EvansZalewski (2022) indicated that to prevent burnout, school counselors should engage in person-specific self-care or organization-specific self-care, however, to receive maximum benefits, school counselors should engage in both.

Person-specific self-care focuses on the counselor and includes activities such as mindfulness, meditation, counseling, coping skills, and social support. In addition, Evans- Zalewski (2022) mentions that developing a healthy work-life balance is another form of person-specific self-care. School counselors should feel that one aspect— work or life- does not consume more than the other. Organization-specific self-care is defined as measures that are taken to aid the individual and the organization achieve a better fit. Establishing a self-care routine is essential for novice school counselors because school counselors not only navigate constant emotional and relational job stress but also navigate organizational job structures and school environments (Bardhoshi et al., 2022).

Seek Supervision

Supervision is a method in which school counselors receive feedback and support and is intended to improve clinical skills and counseling competency (Duncan et al., 2014; Lambie, 2007). Upon their entrance into the profession, novice school counselors are expected to provide comprehensive school counseling services to students, yet, they likely do not receive supervision throughout their professional experience (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004). Considering the expansive work of school counselors, the need for school counselor supervision during professional practice is vital (Magnuson et al., 2004). Culbreath et al. (2005) found that supervision is linked to lower stress levels in school counselors. Lambie (2007) and Moyer (2011) both found that supervision was a significant predictor and device for mitigating burnout. . Clinical supervision has yet to establish a significant presence in school counseling contexts although its need is often emphasized (Luke & Bernard, 2006). Luke and Bernard (2006) assert that the underutilization of clinical supervision may be due to a focus on the implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs instead of the clinical development of school counselors (Luke & Bernard, 2006).

Implications for practice and implementation

Given the considerable amount of literature on the effects of burnout on school counselors, it is important that novice school counselors employ this conceptual framework to help alleviate its impact. Ideally situating oneself in an environment that understands the role and function, school counselors can focus their work on creating a comprehensive school counseling program that is focused on improving students’ academic, career, and social-emotional development.

If school leadership is open to education on the role of a school counselor, there is also an opportunity to expand one’s perspective and understanding of how to optimally utilize school counselors to improve student outcomes. Given the responsibility that school counselors have in being the first mental health professional that some students may encounter, it is important that one employs strategies to prevent burnout.

References https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/bd376246-0b4f-413f-b3e0-1b9938f36e68/ANM-executive-summary-4th-ed.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (4th ed.)

Bardhoshi, G., Um, B., Niles, J., Li, H., Han, E., & Brown, M. (2022). Novice school counselors’ burnout profiles and professional experiences: A mixed-methods study. Professional School Counseling, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x221126686

Bernard, J. M., & Goodyear, R. K. (2014). Fundamentals of clinical supervision (5th ed.). Pearson Education.

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