Counseling and educational reform have been responsive to major societal change. This evolution is also reflected in counselor preparation. We examined changes in the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) school counselor preparation standards over four decades in the United States. Constant comparative…

Capitalizing on Latinx students' aspirational, linguistic, social, navigational, familial, resistant, perseverant, and spiritual community cultural wealth (CCW) can help school counselors empower Latinx students. We outline and integrate critical race theory and CCW and demonstrate how communities of color bring assets and protective factors with…

This study evaluates the relationship between the Recognized American School Counselor Association Model Program (RAMP) designation and students' achievement and attendance outcomes in elementary and middle schools. We used data from 2009 through 2015 from Wake County Public Schools, the largest school district in North Carolina. Our analyses use…

Early school transitions provide students with opportunities and challenges that will impact their academic and developmental pathways, but the role that the elementary school counselor can play in these transitions is often overlooked in school counseling literature. The transition into kindergarten and the transition from second to third grade…

Student achievement was compared between Washington State middle schools with comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCPs) and those without. Statistically controlling for socioeconomic status, multivariate analyses of covariance revealed minimal differences between students in CSCP and non-CSCP schools. Significant score differences emerged,…

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…

Characteristics of current and emerging school counseling program models are reviewed, and their limitations and challenges in serving students' needs in the 21st century are enumerated. The authors discuss the implications for these models of recent advances in developmental theory and research and in positive psychology, along with the…

Articles in this special issue illustrate how Strengths-Based School Counseling complements the ASCA National Model[R] by strengthening the foundation of comprehensive school counseling programs, emphasizing promotion-oriented delivery, reinforcing the accountability and evidence base, engaging in developmental advocacy, and highlighting the…

The developmental importance of peers in early adolescence creates an opportunity for school counselors to utilize group work to promote development and achievement. This article will review research on peer relationships and demonstrate how developmental forces in early adolescence are consistent with and related to therapeutic factors in group…

The way students start out at a new school--and the help they receive before and after transition--can go a long way toward a successful school year for students and school staff alike. Discusses how a yearlong, comprehensive transition program can make the difference regardless of whether the student is moving to or from middle school. (GCP)

The American School Counselor Association has endorsed group work as an important component of school counseling programs, and research has demonstrated the effectiveness of group work in schools. Yet there is still considerable variation in practice of group work in schools. The type of group training preservice school counselors receive is an…

Romano and Kachgal argue for greater collaboration between counseling psychology and school counseling. Although their proposal has considerable merit, a variety of barriers to collaboration - including professional jealousies and turf, the lack of knowledge and interest of most counseling psychologists in schools, and the availability of benefits…

Children and adolescents of deployed soldiers require preventive and sometimes remedial service from school counselors, because deployment taxes coping skills and exacerbates normal developmental challenges. This article reviews the cultural and developmental context for children with deployed caregivers and outlines a ten session, hybrid…

Provides advice for school counselors on promoting healthy body image among middle school students. Interventions for the promotion of healthy body image at individual, group, and systemic levels can offer students a protective factor for common disruptions associated with puberty and the transition into middle school. Outlines issues for…

Two studies of school counselors' perceptions of the impact of the North Carolina ABC (high-stakes) testing program are reported in this article. (For ease of interpretation, percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number in both studies.) One hundred forty-one counselors who attended their state association's professional conference…