Section 2.1: Define
Comprehensive School Counseling Framework for Connecticut Schools
Key Concepts
- Three Sets of School Counseling Framework Standards
Takeaways
- Foundation builder: learning goals for what students should know.
- Self-assess the school counselor’s knowledge, skills and habits of mind
regarding professional practice. - Respect the rights and dignity of students and families by exhibiting ethical behavior to ensure professional conduct and integrity.
Making the CT Framework Work: Checklist for this Section
- Student Standards
- Connecticut Student 18 Standards
- ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success: K–12 College and
Career Readiness for Every Student - Professional Standards
- Connecticut School Counselor Professional Practice Standards
- ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competences
- ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors
Define
Define is the first component of the school counseling framework and the cornerstone for accountability. Define drives and supports the development of the entire framework that is grounded in standards and competencies. The standards support school counselors to cultivate, apply, implement, and assess performance and to build a sustainable support system. The competencies address the essential knowledge, skills, behaviors, and abilities required to achieve a level of performance.
Student Standards
The Connecticut Student Standards (CSS) and the ASCA Mindsets and Behavior: K–12 College and Career Readiness Standards for Student Success represent the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and abilities necessary for every student. The CSS are aligned to the Connecticut Core Standards. School counselors use the student standards to assess student growth and development in the three domains: academic, social-emotional, and career development. The standards are used to develop competencies and to measure growth over time. School counselors operationalize the standards through the use of data, the development of school counseling curriculum and lesson plans, small groups, individual counseling, and evidence-based program activities to support students’ developmental needs.
Each student standard is broken down into a set of measurable competencies. Student competencies are selected based on the completion of a needs assessment of the school, district, and community stakeholders to determine which standards are important for students to obtain. This allows school counselors in Connecticut to customize their comprehensive framework to meet the specific needs of the student population in their school(s).
Connecticut Student Standards
Academic Development |
Career Development |
Social-Emotional Development |
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Student Standard A1 Student Standard A2 Student Standard A3 Student Standard A4 Student Standard A5 Student Standard A6 |
Student Standard C1 Student Standard C2 Student Standard C3 Student Standard C4 Student Standard C5 Student Standard C6 |
Student Standard S/E 1 Student Standard S/E 2 Student Standard S/E 3 Student Standard S/E 4 Student Standard S/E 5 Student Standard S/E 6 |
Connecticut School Counselor Professional Standards
School counselors in Connecticut are held to a set of professional standards that are aligned with the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors and the ASCA Professional Standards and Competencies for School Counselors. The Connecticut School Counselor Professional Standards (CSCPS) define knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that school counselors should demonstrate to be effective in their role. School Counselors are evaluated using the Student and Educator Support Specialists (SESS) rubric and the School Counselor Evidence Guide for best practices, which measures proficiency on the performance of the professional standards. Additionally, the professional standards inform the recruitment and selection process (See Appendix E), and the standards can support the design and implementation of professional development plans and for self-evaluation.
Connecticut School Counselor Professional Standards
The school counselor is expected to:
Standards | |||
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Standard 1 Articulate and demonstrate an understanding of individual counseling theories, group counseling, and classroom lessons ensuring equitable student access to resources that promote:
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Standard 2 Act as a student advocate, leader, collaborator, and systems change agent to create an environment promoting and supporting student success to:
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Standard 3 Plan, design, and deliver a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program to:
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Standard 4 Implement the Individual Student Planning and Responsive Services Components in collaboration with all stakeholders to:
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Standard 5 Collect, examine, and communicate school, student, and program data to:
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Standard 6 Manage and use time effectively to:
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Standard 7 Collaborate with school advisory committees, families, school staff, community members and other stakeholders to:
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Standard 8 Fulfill responsibilities for his/her professional growth and the growth of the school counseling profession, including:
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