FAQ For Administrators

*What types of support can my school counselor provide during COVID-19?

Developing a virtual school counseling program will enable students and families to remain connected to the school community. The CASC webinar “Key Educational Resources for Virtual School Counseling” presented by Dr. Rebecca Pianta and Beatrice Nguyen will provide strategies and tools to develop a comprehensive virtual school counseling program Powerpoint and Webinar Recording . In addition to developing their virtual school counseling program school counselors can support all students, families, and staff by developing a list of mental health resources for their community and advocating for that list to be published on the district/school websites as well as under the school counseling page.

Additional areas that school counselors can support the school community during distance learning include:

Outreach to students that have not engaged with virtual learning by calling students’ homes, making a visual recorded message and emailing the message to students, mailing a short note to the student’s home and collaborating with other school and district personnel, and requesting wellness checks by first responders
Collaborate with other student support personnel to design and implement a schoolwide approach to student referrals for social/emotional support
Support administrators in attending to well being of staff members
Provide virtual small group counseling for topics including grief/loss, stress, and anxiety
Co-teach SEL lessons to support students’ well being and connectedness

*I’m not sure what my school counselor should be doing now; where do I begin?

School counselors like teachers are essentially changing their delivery models overnight which is undoubtedly a stressful situation for all involved. However, a positive in this COVID-19 situation is the wealth of FREE professional development (PD) on the web. Consider sharing vetted PD sources and encourage school counselors to focus their PD in the most critical areas for these unprecedented times:

Vetted sources of PD include:

CASC, ASCA , Hatching Results, LLC, CASEL, Riverside County Education Collaborative (RCEC) , COELSC Virtual School Counseling Toolkit, Coalition to Support Grieving Students, and this site as well!

*What are the ethical guidelines for school counselors in virtual counseling?

CASC and ASCA have provided guidance to school counselors on the topic of ethical guidance in relation to virtual school counseling. The ASCA Position Statement on Virtual School Counseling and FAQ Ethical Considerations in Virtual School Counseling are must reads. Crucial takeaways are:

Adhere to the same ethical guidelines as in a brick and mortar setting.
Establish office hours and advertise procedures for students to follow in both emergency and nonemergency situations when the school counselor is unavailable.
Recognize and mitigate the limitations of confidentiality which may include unintended viewers or recipients and provide notice to students and parents of the limitations.
Educate students on appropriate behavior and communication to minimize and prevent potential misunderstandings that could occur due to lack of the verbal cues and inability to read body language.
Work with administration and district office to identify FERPA protected platforms and to define acceptable norms for virtual school counseling
Refrain from using personal phones. Suggestions are: *67, GoToConnect, or Google Voice numbers

*Can school counselors facilitate small groups using online platforms?

Yes, school counselors can facilitate small groups, but how it looks may vary. Counseling in small groups should provide student and family information on the limitations of confidentiality. If the district required consent on campus then that same policy should be implemented in virtual counseling. We do not recommend that live group sessions be recorded as the recording will become a part of each student’s educational record. It’s vitally important to follow district policies. We also recommend that you consult with your legal council.

Use data from engagement participation, teacher referrals, and parent referrals to create intentional small group interventions
Successful strategies with small groups include: students using the chat box to share personal information, wearing headphones or using a sound machine so that family members cannot listen to conversations
Review group norms from pre-existing small groups and add norms for virtual group counsel

*What is the best way for me to support my School Counselors during Distance Learning?

Include them on the school leadership team
Provide accessibility and prominence of the school counseling website and enable frequent updates
Encourage them to adhere to their office hours and refrain from appearing to be available 24/7
Check in with school counselors often and ask for feedback regarding school and staff climate
Celebrate success and hard work (ie send a video thanking them and/or social media posts)
Encourage and/or facilitate time for school counselors to be “together” (as a school site and district)
Structure or example of activities they can be doing (i.e. Oregon’s Personalized Student Graduation and Transition Plan Comprehensive School Counseling Programs

*How can school counselors support student Behavior and School Climate during Distance Learning?

School counselors are encouraged to maximize their access to data within the student information system in order to analyze data from attendance, grades, and suspension as well as teacher referrals in the design of intentional interventions aligned with root causes. School counselors routinely advocate for discipline policies that nurture the development of appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes which may include the use of alternatives to suspension and restorative justice methods. Listed below are some approaches a school counselor may take in supporting positive behavior and improved school climate:

Teach skills in decision making, conflict resolution, leadership and problem solving
Teach communication etiquette specifically related to distance learning
Communicate directly with families in order to provide guidance on how to support their child’s behavior and well being
Collaborate with administrators, other school professionals, community agencies and families in the design and implementation of MTSS (Multi Tiered System of Supports)
Participate in PBIS Teams

Our school counselors are not involved with distance learning so what could they be doing?

School Counselors Can Spend this time strengthening their program. Typical actions at this time of year would be to review end of year data, measure program success, create results reports to be shared with staff and school boards at an appropriate time. Plans for the 20-21 school year can also be underway and the following are some recommendations:

Attend to their annual calendar & annual agreement/administrator conference
Develop action plans, lesson plans/curriculum for both Tier 1 and Tier 2
Create / develop curriculum for delivery online and/or in person when school returns
Develop pre/post tests and experiment with a variety of engaging ways to administer the assessments
Create voice over/recorded lessons
Assess integration of ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors
Create results report templates where only the date and data need to be entered

There is a plethora of FREE professional development (PD) that doesn’t pertain to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Suggestions for PD are:

Role of the School Counselor within MTSS and the Multi-Tiered, Multi Domain System of Supports which is outlined in the tab MTSS Role of the School Counselor.
CASC Best Practices Guidelines for California School Counselors

Increase knowledge in ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies, ASCA’s Position Statements, and Ethical Guidelines for School Counselors

FAQ for Administrators