Counseling

The Northside Independent School District Counseling Department will provide a comprehensive developmental school counseling program that is implemented by Certified School Counselors, at the campus level, PK - 12.

Northside uses as it’s framework the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs 5th edition (TEC §33.003 - 33.007) The 10 school counselor responsibilities/roles described in The Texas Model addresses the whole child to maximize academic achievement, social and emotional development, and post-secondary college and career readiness.

Components

The Northside School Counseling Program on each campus supports the educational, career, personal, and social development of all students PK - 12, and is designed to include the following components: Guidance Curriculum, Individual Planning, Responsive Services, and System Support.

Guidance Curriculum

School counselors provide classroom guidance lessons that facilitate student growth and development in the areas of educational, career, personal, and social development in four curricular content areas: Intrapersonal Effectiveness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Post-Secondary Education and Career Readiness, and Personal Health and Safety.

Individual Planning

The individual planning component guides students to plan, monitor, and manage their own educational, career, personal and social development. Each student is provided with necessary steps toward his/her established goals.

Responsive Service

In this component, school counselors intervene with or on behalf of those students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grades whose personal circumstances, concerns, or problems are threatening to interfere with or are interfering with their healthy educational, personal, social, career and/or educational development.

System Support

The System Support component describes management activities which assure the delivery of a high quality school counseling program, and service which indirectly benefit students by supporting other programs.

Content Areas

Intrapersonal Effectiveness

Positive student self-concept
Effective executive functioning skills
Appropriate behavior to the situation and environment

Interpersonal Effectiveness

Effective interactions with diverse populations
Effective and appropriate communication skills
Recognition of personal boundaries, individual rights and privacy needs of others
Effective conflict resolution skills
Development of healthy relationships

Post-Secondary Planning and Career Readiness

Motivation to succeed in personal endeavors
Demonstration of career exploration skills
Possession of the knowledge and skills to gather information for the purpose of postsecondary education and career planning
Demonstration of awareness of the importance of postsecondary education
Understanding of the relationship of academics to the world of work and to life at home and in the community

Personal Health and Safety

Incorporation of wellness practices into daily living
Demonstration of resilience and positive coping skills
Possession of assertiveness skills necessary for personal protection

Roles of a Professional School Counselor

The following eight domains constitute the roles of the professional school counselor:

Program Management

School counselors collaboratively plan, implement, evaluate and advocate for a comprehensive school counseling program. This program is organized and delivered through the four components (1) Guidance Curriculum, (2) Responsive Services, (3) Individual Planning, and (4) System Support specified in the Texas Education Code (§33.005).

Guidance

Through classroom guidance, school counselors proactively assist all students in developing and applying skills for maximum educational, career, personal, and social growth during school years and beyond.

Counseling

School counselors make counseling interventions accessible to all students relative to their developmental needs, personal concerns, or challenges that affect their continued educational, career, personal, or social development.

Consultation

As consultants, school counselors advocate for students and provide professional expertise to help faculty, staff, administrators, parents/guardians, and other community members understand individual behavior and human relationships and interpret relevant information concerning the development needs of students School counselors consult with others to promote and increase the effectiveness of student education and student success.

Coordination

School counselors provide resources to the home, school, district, and community to support students’ optimal academic, career, personal, and social development. Counselors work with students’ parents/guardians and school personnel to coordinate referrals to other resources as appropriate.

Student Assessment

School counselors interpret standardized test results and other available student data to promote sound decision making for students and others involved in the students’ development. Counselors promote understanding of ethical and legal uses and limitations of assessment.

Leadership

School counselors apply leadership competencies in the implementation of the comprehensive school counseling program including the school’s responsiveness to the personal and social needs of diverse students and the enhancement of learning environments that address the diverse needs of students.

Advocacy

School counselors advocate for a school environment that acknowledges and respects diversity for individuals and specific groups of students. They also advocate for policies, programs, and services that are equitable and responsive to diverse groups of students and do not impede student achievement and school success.

Professional Behavior

School counselors establish and maintain professional relationships with administrators, teachers, other school staff, parents, and community members. They demonstrate professionalism including a commitment to continuous professional development. Counselors accept accountability for the use of time in delivering a full complement of services based on assessed needs in all fours components of a comprehensive school counseling program.

Professional Standards

Professional School Counselors adhere to professional standards in all components of a comprehensive developmental school counseling program. Counselors are committed to current professional standards of competence and practice. They promote and follow school counseling ethical standards. And demonstrate professional and responsible work habits.

Safe Schools

The Safe School Initiatives Program (SSIP) in Northside ISD plans and implements a comprehensive drug and violence prevention program. Our goal is to:

prevent the use, possession, and distribution of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs by students and employees.
prevent violence and promote school safety.
create disciplined environments conducive to learning.

Connections

Northside Independent School District is dedicated to the education of all children. Because of this, Northside ISD has developed the CONNECTIONS Program to provide services to students and families experiencing homelessness, so that children can attend school and achieve success.

CONNECTIONS is made possible through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act.