What Can I Do?

Advocating for the profession often times forces school counselors to step outside of their comfort zone.  School counselors by nature want to focus on others rather than themselves.  That said, a strong school counseling program is dependent on support from decision makers which only comes about when school counselors take the time to educate stakeholders and advocate for the profession.  Here are some simple things that you can do:

1. Vote in every election!  While lawmakers can not see who you voted for, they can easily see if you voted.  More and more lawmakers are giving stronger consideration to requests made by constituents who actually voted in the previous election over those who did not.
2. Invite your state senator to join you for a cup of coffee and help them understand the role of the school counselor and how school counselors impact students' academic achievement, social emotional development, and college/career readiness.
3. When any elected official holds a town meeting or coffee near you, attend the meeting, introduce yourself, talk about school counseling, and let them know how they could help support school counseling programs in your school district.  Use both data and personal stories to demonstrate school cousnelor impact.
4. Monitor the NSCA website when the Nebraska Legislature is in session (during 2nd semester of each school year) for a desciption of bills that are relevant to school counseling and education.  If you feel that any of the bills being considered are particularly helpful or hurtful to school counseling or students, email or call your state senator and let them know.  If you have a questions about a particular bill, contact our Government Relations Chair.
5. Present to your School Board about the role of the school counselor and the ASCA National Model.  Show them how the school counseling program in your school building or district if having a positive impact on students.  You may also want to include how the school board could further support the school counseling program or at least be prepared to anwer that question if a board member asks you.

IMPORTANT FOR YOUR PROTECTION: If you work for a public school, avoid using work time to contact elected officials.  Also avoid using school resources such as computers, WiFi, email accounts, telephones, copiers, paper, or fax machinces when contacting elected officials.