As a graduate of the Broward County Schools and a former student of Nova High School, I have a personal connection to the school district and a deep understanding of the challenges that students face. I decided to pursue a career as a school counselor because I experienced firsthand the lack of support and guidance from counselors while I was in high school. I witnessed counselors being overwhelmed with administrative tasks and unable to address the individual needs of students, including myself. I hoped that by becoming a school counselor, I could make a difference and provide the support that I didn't receive during my own time in high school. However, since starting my role as a school counselor in Broward County, I have found that the system has not improved and, in fact, has become more challenging. I am often required to take on additional job duties that take away from my ability to focus on providing counseling and support to students. This has been a source of frustration for me and has made it difficult to fulfill my role effectively. By streamlining our responsibilities and focusing on tasks that align with our expertise and training, we can better meet the needs of the students we serve. Additionally, by clarifying our job responsibilities, we can protect our time from NON-SPECIFIC tasks that may be outside of our scope of practice. This will also help to prevent any potential abuse of the phrase "perform other duties as assigned" by administration, allowing us to focus on our core responsibilities as counselors. Ultimately, these changes will enable ALL counselors especially NEW to attend trainings and become more involved in the community and school environment, enhancing their ability to support students in a meaningful way.
Thank you for being on the path to implementing and aligning with the ASCA (American School Counseling Association) Model.
The revision to the job description for all school counseling positions (currently referred to as Guidance Counselors in Broward) should be approved at today’s meeting. In October of 2023, every other mental health professional in the school district’s job description was updated/revised to better support the mental health of students, but not school counselors. Oftentimes, school counselors are the first contact families make when their student is struggling (academically or with mental health concerns). This revision/update will help to ensure the school counselors in our schools can get back to counseling students. These new job descriptions also align with the State of Florida School
course selling Standards, that went into effect in July of 2023. School counselors are masters level, mental health professionals, who support the school improvement plans of schools through comprehensive School
Counseling programs addressing the academics, personal/social, and college and career growth of all students. Please approve this much needed job description revision, so our counselors can support the overall achievement of student and schools!
As a graduate of the Broward County Schools and a former student of Nova High School, I have a personal connection to the school district and a deep understanding of the challenges that students face. I decided to pursue a career as a school counselor because I experienced firsthand the lack of support and guidance from counselors while I was in high school. I witnessed counselors being overwhelmed with administrative tasks and unable to address the individual needs of students, including myself. I hoped that by becoming a school counselor, I could make a difference and provide the support that I didn't receive during my own time in high school. However, since starting my role as a school counselor in Broward County, I have found that the system has not improved and, in fact, has become more challenging. I am often required to take on additional job duties that take away from my ability to focus on providing counseling and support to students. This has been a source of frustration for me and has made it difficult to fulfill my role effectively. By streamlining our responsibilities and focusing on tasks that align with our expertise and training, we can better meet the needs of the students we serve. Additionally, by clarifying our job responsibilities, we can protect our time from NON-SPECIFIC tasks that may be outside of our scope of practice. This will also help to prevent any potential abuse of the phrase "perform other duties as assigned" by administration, allowing us to focus on our core responsibilities as counselors. Ultimately, these changes will enable ALL counselors especially NEW to attend trainings and become more involved in the community and school environment, enhancing their ability to support students in a meaningful way.
Thank you for being on the path to implementing and aligning with the ASCA (American School Counseling Association) Model.
The revision to the job description for all school counseling positions (currently referred to as Guidance Counselors in Broward) should be approved at today’s meeting. In October of 2023, every other mental health professional in the school district’s job description was updated/revised to better support the mental health of students, but not school counselors. Oftentimes, school counselors are the first contact families make when their student is struggling (academically or with mental health concerns). This revision/update will help to ensure the school counselors in our schools can get back to counseling students. These new job descriptions also align with the State of Florida School
course selling Standards, that went into effect in July of 2023. School counselors are masters level, mental health professionals, who support the school improvement plans of schools through comprehensive School
Counseling programs addressing the academics, personal/social, and college and career growth of all students. Please approve this much needed job description revision, so our counselors can support the overall achievement of student and schools!