Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events occurring in the household or community that hold painful or distressing outcomes for children immediately and in their future (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). School counselors work with children and young adolescents suffering from negative mental health…

Diminished self-care practices and heightened stress of school counselors is a continuing problem in education. With role ambiguity, high student-to-counselor ratios, emotional exhaustion, and others adding pressure to the roles and responsibilities of school counselors, this study investigated the self-care practices of Missouri school counselors…

The immigration process in the United States has undergone constant changes and evolutions, each with its own rules, regulations, protocols, nuances, and consequences. Keeping track of those changes is a challenge for even the legislators who are charged with regulating and monitoring it. Undocumented students, who have arrived here under many…

Diminished self-care practices and heightened stress of school counselors are continuing problems in education. With role ambiguity, high student-to-counselor ratios, emotional exhaustion, and other factors adding pressure to the roles and responsibilities of school counselors, this study investigated the well-being practiced of Missouri school…

School counselors are uniquely trained and positioned within schools to use data for the purpose of addressing opportunity and achievement gaps present in many schools. Even with this position, the literature for school counseling remains focused on reasons to use data rather than how to use data within a school counseling program. This study…

As Missouri schools embrace trauma informed practices, school counselors and social workers across the state experience regular exposure to traumatized children. However, research investigating secondary traumatic stress within this population is scarce. A primary goal of this study was to explore the risk levels for secondary traumatic stress,…

This study examined student access to school counselors and the link between school counselor-to-student (SC-S) ratios and student outcomes in six states in the United States. Access to school counselors was often greater for White students, but less for Asian students, English learners, or those in larger schools. In the two states with the…

This study is the first systematic examination of how school counselor multicultural counseling competence (MCC) is addressed in state licensure examinations of school counselors. Results offer preliminary support to the notion that state licensure examinations indeed address some important aspects of MCC, as identified by Holcomb-McCoy (2004).…

In 2010, the National Association of School Psychologists approved the "Model for Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services" (or the NASP Practice Model), codifying what an expanded role encompasses in the delivery of school-based psychological services. This study examined the role and function of school psychology…

For students whose families and friends do not have college-going experience to share, applying to college can be challenging. School counselors can fill the gap, but in many schools--especially those serving students most in need--counselors are spread thin. This NASBE policy update explores the ways state boards of education can address the…

In education, much emphasis is placed on academic achievement without fully understanding the role counseling programs can have to ensure all students are learning at high levels and are college and career ready. The staff of Midwest School District believes that guidance and counseling is an integral part of each school's total education program.…

A school-community partnership team implemented an aggression management curriculum in an afterschool program as an early-intervention strategy at the upper elementary level. Although statistically significant differences in physical or psychological aggression were not found, the partnership team gained a better understanding of evidence-based…

A major school crisis can cause physical and emotional distress as well as impact student academic performance. The purpose of this study was to use a web-based survey to explore Missouri school counselors' perceptions of individual and school-wide crisis preparedness and crisis training experiences. Results indicate that the more involved school…

Results link lower student-to-school-counselor ratios to better graduation rates and lower disciplinary incidents across Missouri high schools. An interaction favorable for promoting student success in school was found between increasing percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch and smaller student-to-school-counselor ratios.…

The six statewide research studies presented in this special issue use a variety of designs, instrumentation, and measures. Nevertheless, they can be integrated at the level of results to shed light on some important questions related to effective practice in the field of school counseling. In fact, one can argue that, when separate studies that…