Best Practices for Effective Secondary School Counselors

Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Best Practice 1: Utilize Data to Evaluate Program Effectiveness and Plan for Continuous Improvement Section 1: Review the School Counseling Plan Section 2: Develop a School Profile Section 3: Obtain Stakeholder Perspectives Section 4: Create a Self-Evaluation Instrument Section 5: Formulate a Counseling Program Action Plan 2. Best Practice 2: Design and Implement a Comprehensive Advisement System Section 1: A Schoolwide Advisement Program Section 2: An Individual Advisement Program Section 3: A Rising Ninth-Grade Advisement Program 3. Best Practice 3: Design and Implement an Extensive Career Education Program Section 1: Basic Principles of Career Development Section 2: Design Appropriate Career Development Plans for Middle and High School Students Section 3: Design and Implement a Comprehensive Career Center Section 4: Career Portfolios for Students 4. Best Practice 4: Create Transition Programs That Prepare Students for Success Section 1: A Keystone Program for Rising Ninth-Grade Students Section 2: A Credit Recovery Program for High School Students Section 3: A Capstone Program for Twelfth-Grade Students 5. Best Practice 5: Establish and Maintain Communication With the School Community Section 1: Establishing Communication Section 2: Maintaining Communication 6. Best Practice 6: Design a Personal Plan for Professional Development Appendix A: Stress Management for Secondary School Counselors Appendix B: Writing Effective Letters of Recommendation Form B1: Student Recommendation Worksheet Form B2: School Profile Resource B3: Tips for Writing Effective Letters of Recommendation Resource B4: Word Bank of Adjectives Resource B5a: Sample Letters 1 Resource B5b: Sample Letters 2 Resource B5c: Sample Letters 3 Resource B5d: Sample Letters 4 Resource B5e: Sample Letters 5 References Index