Most K12 leaders agree that school counselors are tasked with supporting students' academic success, career development and social/emotional development through comprehensive counseling programs, says a new report by the American School Counselor Association. But significant percentages of administrators also noted that counselors in their schools are saddled with responsibilities outside their purviews:

Coordinating 504 plans
Building the master schedule for students' classes
Coordinating statewide testing programs
Coordinating paperwork and data entry of all new students
Providing ongoing individual counseling as part of an IEP
Maintaining cumulative student files
Covering classes when teachers are absent or creating teacher planning time
Computing grade-point averages
Providing long-term counseling/therapy
Disproportionate time supervising common areas (lunch, hall, bus, etc.) compared with other staff in the building
Coordinating schoolwide individual education plans (IEP) 6.9% 7.3%
Performing disciplinary actions or assigning disciplinary consequences

Still, most of the district and building administrators surveyed said their counselors were delivering a comprehensive counseling program and fulfilling other vital roles, such as making data-driven decisions; working to improve student achievement, attendance and discipline rates; and implementing a college and career readiness curriculum. Most administrators also said counselors were regularly providing individual, small group and family counseling.

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Are your school counselors being pushed beyond their job descriptions?

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