Who do school counsellors work for?

As counsellors, we take great pride in being able to contribute to the future success of students. These young adults inspire us to be better versions of ourselves every day.

The counsellor’s role demands that we continually evolve, learn trends and act as trusted sources of information. To do that, it is imperative to define our stakeholders. The main ones are: students, parents, the school leadership team and university admissions representatives.

1. Students and parents

Students are our ultimate “customers”, but also our stakeholders. We must show accountability and be trusted sources of information. Their results depend on our efficacy. We must guide them through the college application process and, depending on our roles, also advise on careers and support their mental health.

Parents, meanwhile, often feel quite anxious throughout this process. It is important that we align their expectations and manage anxiety.

For both students and parents, we must become trusted sources of information. Furthermore, we must show empathy during tricky conversations. And we must be present and visible to them: be available during morning arrival, during breaks, on lunch duty, assisting in class or during extracurricular activities. Showing vulnerability and availability can also help to cement trust.

I once had to work closely with a mother and daughter who had high expectations for college acceptances. The family was also working with an independent educational consultant, so there were several stakeholders involved in the process.

The student started getting too anxious about the process and her grades began to falter. This generated further anxiety in the mother and questions about whether the student would still be able to secure a place at a highly selective US college.

I spent countless hours reassuring the student that she was a terrific person and a good student. Meanwhile, I had a lot of conversations with her mother in which I actively listened to her concerns and managed her expectations – being upfront about how the downward trend in grades could affect college admissions, while mapping out alternatives.

In the spirit of collaboration, I worked closely with the independent education consultant. Moreover, I involved our social and emotional learning counsellor, who has psychology training and who helped me to manage the student’s mental health. I also kept senior leadership informed throughout.

We were able to build confidence and trust among all stakeholders, especially the student. Her grades recovered, she submitted an incredible application and secured a place at a top-10 US university. The result was lots of celebration and tears of joy, as well as further trust being built. The bonds formed were vital to the case’s success. And none of this would have been possible without all stakeholders being aligned, collaborating and managing expectations properly.

2. School leadership

It is essential to know your school culture and understand its priorities. The 2Cs and 2Ps approach of communication, collaboration, proactivity and providing data is essential.

Technology is an incredible tool when it comes to presenting quantifiable data. For example, I successfully implemented an acceptances-tracking database that was built in collaboration with our technology team. The system also maps out regions, correlations between acceptances and numbers of counsellor meetings (we track and record every meeting) and students’ grades. We can see trends in our college admissions, whether in grades, regions or other metrics. This system allows us to present data to leadership.

It has also made me think of other solutions to help increase productivity, such as workshops for senior students and ways to be more effective in our communication – for instance, we now use WhatsApp business to communicate with all stakeholders. 

3. University admissions representatives

I believe that some of our most important connections are with university admissions representatives. It is critical to meet them, highlight aspects of our school and curriculum, and – perhaps even more importantly – listen and gather feedback on the things we could be doing better.

For example, I have adapted my recommendation letters now, following advice given by admissions reps. I have also modified my school profile to include some items that they mentioned were relevant to them (such as grade-distribution curves).