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No counselor left behind

Don't overlook these highly qualified professionals in your learning plans

By Mandy Savitz-Romer
June 2019
Vol. 40, No. 3
If your district or school has developed a strategic plan for professional learning, implements strong coaching and PLCs, and aims to meet the Standards for Professional Learning, you may believe you are covering all the bases to build capacity in your staff. But look more closely. Are you including all the professionals who influence learning and academic success? Too often, leaders overlook valuable human capital in their schools and miss the opportunity to develop them so that the school and its students can reach their full potential. This is particularly true for a highly qualified but underused group of professionals: school counselors. Too often, leaders overlook valuable human capital in their schools and miss the opportunity to develop them so that the school and its

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Authors

Mandy Savitz-Romer

Mandy Savitz-Romer (savitzma@gse.harvard.edu) is the Nancy Pforzheimer Aronson Senior Lecturer in Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

School counselors are uniquely positioned to support students’ skills, address barriers to learning, and support schools’ strategic priorities.

References

DuFour, R., DuFour, R. Eaker, R., & Karhanek, G. (2004). Whatever it takes: How professional learning communities respond when kids don’t learn. Bloomington, IN: National Education Service.

Savitz-Romer, M. (2019). Fulfilling the promise: Reimagining school counseling to advance student success. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Young, A.A., Millard, T., & Kneale, M.M. (2013). Enhancing school counselor instructional leadership through collaborative teaming: Implications for principals. NASSP Bulletin, 97(3), 253-269.


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