Busywork cuts into time with kids, counselors say

— College and career counseling is one of the many responsibilities of high school counselors, who also coordinate student schedules, respond to crisis situations, comfort students in distress, and arrange meetings with students, their parents and teachers as needed.

More than 90 percent of high school counselors and administrators who participated in a national online survey this year agreed that counselors should be involved in ensuring a high quality education for all students and ensuring students have the skills to succeed in college and the work force after graduation.

But the 2012 online survey of 2,084 high school counselors revealed that they struggle to accomplish those goals because of some of their daily responsibilities. The results were reported by The College Board Advocacy and Policy Center Office for School Counselor Advocacy. The College Board produces the SAT, an exam used for college admissions.

Counselors are mandated by the state to spend at least 75 percent of their time working directly with students and only 25 percent in administrative tasks.

“It’s absolutely hard to do. It’s absolutely critical that we do that,” said Linda Haley, director of counseling for the Rogers School District. “It’s our goal to have contact with every student on our roster and be sure they are on track to meet their career goals.”

A good school counselor believes that all children belong, Haley said.

At the high school level, counselors’ first priority is ensuring children choose courses that fulfill graduation requirements and fit with their career goals, Haley said. The second priority involves removing barriers to their success, such as attendance problems, mentalhealth issues and the challenges of dysfunctional families.

Most high school counselors who participated in The College Board’s survey in May and June think they are effective in ensuring students complete a college-preparatory sequence of courses, increasing college application rates and boosting the numbers of students taking advanced classes and exams, according to a report on survey results.

A majority of the counselors surveyed also thought counselors are effective in reviewing student transcripts and raising high school graduation rates.

But fewer than 40 percent of high school counselors surveyed reported being accountable for dropout rates, college acceptance rates, college application rates or student access to advanced classes. More than 60 percent of counselors surveyed instead reported being responsible for the development of the school counseling program, administrative and clerical tasks, and coordinating tests.

HOW COUNSELORS HELP

School districts in Arkansas must hire a certified counselor for every 450 students. When a school has a counselor and fewer than 450 students, the counselor is not a full-time counselor and can be assigned other duties, said Cathy Edmonds, a counselor at Drew Central High School in southeast Arkansas.

As a counselor, Edmonds monitors students’ academic plans and stays after them to keep up their grades, she said. She reviews their transcripts three times a year and helps them research colleges and careers.

Edmonds led her campus in starting a Career Action Planning program modeled after one developed in the Springdale School District, she said. The program guides students in planning careers, choosing the right courses and researching colleges. The program involves parents.

But Edmonds also is involved with a professional development program for teachers, scheduling courses for students, a leadership team for the high school and serves as her building’s test coordinator.

She is responsible for double-checking that she has enough testing materials and provides them for all the teachers. She also files reports through the state’s electronic student management system.

FINDING BALANCE

At Omaha High School, with 190 students in Boone County, counselor Sandra Roberts wishes she could devote more time to meeting with students but she has to balance her counseling duties with paperwork and administrative responsibilities, she said. The more time she spends with students, the higher the percentages of students who take the ACT, an exam used for college admissions, and who apply to college.

When she became a counselor, Roberts thought she would be in and out of classrooms, working with teachers and students, she said.

“I don’t get to do as much as what I thought I would do,” she said. “At small schools, there’s not a person on this campus that doesn’t do three different jobs.”

In addition to counseling duties, Roberts is the district testing coordinator who is responsible for ordering all tests, taking inventory, arranging scheduling for testing and makeups. She also works with scheduling courses at the high school.

Some of the large high schools assign clerical and administrative tasks to other staff.

At Fayetteville High School, four counselors are available for the 1,900 students attending the main high school, a fifth counselor works at an alternative school and the high school employs a sixth staff member who is a college and career counselor, said Doug Wright, one of the counselors. Counselors do not have responsibilities for testing, he said.

Instead, counselors focus on everyday problems of students, from monitoring whether students are on track for graduation to comforting them after a breakup or helping their families when they can’t pay the electric bill, Wright said. He advises students on planning for college.

“Any time I can help, it’s a good feeling,” he said. “I actually don’t mind doing whatever it takes. Whatever we have to do, we’ll do.”

However, counselors at large schools are responsible for more students, Wright said.

Arkansas, Pages 12 on 11/30/2012

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