School counselors can integrate hope-fostering interventions into their work with students as part of a comprehensive, evidence-based school counseling program. In the past 2 decades, youth's reported levels of hopelessness have increased significantly. Scholars have noted that hopelessness is linked to concerns in youth's safety, mental health,…

This quantitative, nonexperimental study addressed the gap between research-established benefits and outcomes of social/emotional learning (SEL) implementation as compared to actual instances of implementation. Focusing on SEL and the specificity of use of CASEL SELect programs, the research questions of this study explored differences between…

Since at least the 1930s, school counselors have used data to inform school counseling programming. However, the evolving complexity of school counselors' identity calls for an updated understanding of the use of data. We offer an expanded definition of data-based decision making that reflects the purpose of using data in educational settings and…

This study aimed to develop and validate the ASCA-Informed Student Needs Assessment--High School Version, an ASCA-informed and practitioner-friendly instrument that high school counselors can administer to students to identify pressing student needs. The results revealed a four-factor model consisting of the following dimensions: (a) school…

Nature positively impacts holistic wellness and K-12 student learning, although this phenomenon has largely been unstudied in school counseling. School counselors are in a unique position to champion nature connection in school communities to promote holistic wellness and positive learning outcomes. This article introduces EcoWellness as a…

Authors discuss the importance of school counselors addressing spiritual and religious issues in ethically meeting the developmental and cultural needs of K-12 students. Domains of spiritual and religious competence for professional counselors, published by the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC, 2009),…

School counselors promote student social and emotional learning (SEL), which is fundamental to a school's academic mission. However, while recognizing the importance of SEL, many school stakeholders view it as secondary and/or important for only some students. To ensure delivery of SEL to all students, school counselors must embrace a service…

A review of the literature reveals that African-American males do not achieve at the same academic levels as their White counterparts. This article reports the effectiveness of a school-based male mentoring program established by a professional school counselor in an urban high school that formed a relationship of support for male students…

This article extends the relevance of multicultural development to the Strengths-Based School Counseling (SBSC; Galassi & Akos, 2007) perspective. A relatively new construct for school counselors, the "multicultural personality" (MP), is introduced and defined. The MP is conceptualized as a cluster of narrow personality traits that…

Hipolito-Delgado and Lee's article entitled "Empowerment Theory for the Professional School Counselor: A Manifesto for What Really Matters" represents an important contribution to the school counseling literature for two reasons: (1) It helps to expand a growing knowledge base related to the work school counselors can do to foster the…

School counseling programs must provide counselors-in-training with effective and multifaceted leadership skill-building opportunities (Brott, 2006; DeVoss & Andrews, 2006; Dollarhide, Gibson, & Saginak, 2008; Kaffenberger & Murphy, 2007). The Girls' Leadership Experience Camp (GLEC) was created by the authors to enhance the leadership abilities…

This article provides a contemporary view of assisting the large and growing Latino student population in K-12 schools, particularly as it relates to current demographic shifts, school reform, and the ASCA National Model [R]. The article highlights concerns for Latino students and families, culturally appropriate school counseling strategies for…

This article evaluates the initial psychometric qualities of the School Counseling Program Evaluation Survey (SCoPES). SCoPES is a 64-item instrument designed to correspond to "The National Standards for School Counseling Programs" (Campbell & Dahir, 1997). Coefficient alphas on the overall score and the three subscales (i.e.,…

This article reports on a psychometric study examining the validity and reliability of the My Class Inventory-Short Form for Teachers, an accountability measure for elementary school counselors to use as they evaluate aspects of their school counseling programs. As a companion inventory to the student version of the My Class Inventory-Short Form…

Educators have come to recognize the importance of their efforts in building students' social and emotional skills. However, the creation of lasting programming often fails to keep pace with educators' best intentions. In this article, the authors suggest guidelines for ways in which school counselors can be involved in implementing sustained…