Back to School Resources

As students and staff return to school in August and September, ASCA is here to help you prepare for the year – from updating your school counseling program to refreshing your ethics knowledge to helping support students with increasing social/emotional and mental health needs. 

Supporting Student Wellness

Recent research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as other sources, continues to point to students’ challenges in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Preparing to meet students’ social/emotional development needs will be front and center for many K–12 schools when the 2022–23 school year begins. Take a look at these resources to ensure you’re ready when students return:

• ASCA U Specialist trainings, including Mental Health Specialist, Anxiety & Stress Management Specialist and Trauma & Crisis Specialist. ASCA U Specialist trainings are $99 for members ($249 for nonmembers) and are equal to 5 CEUs/50 Contact Hours.
• Professional School Counseling journal special Issue: School Counselors Addressing Education, Health, Wellness and Trauma Disparities (coming soon). Access Professional School Counseling journal. 
• ASCA webinars, including Effective Crisis/Trauma Response, Infusing a Caring Climate in Your School and Culturally Sustaining Social/Emotional Learning.
• Resources and links to information to support grieving students

School Counseling Program Basics

It’s also a good idea to get back to the basics before the school year begins, including scheduling your annual administrative conference and assessing your current school counseling program. Access these tools to ensure you’re ready to hit the ground running:

• Register for ASCA U Ignite: Practical Strategies for a Successful Year: Whether you’re a new school counselor about to start your first job or if you just need a refresher on the components of a school counseling programs, the two-day ASCA U Ignite online training helps you hit the ground running. It includes nearly 40 hours of sessions focused on the ins and outs of building and maintaining your school counseling program. Download the full program.
• Access the ASCA webinars Nurture a Positive Relationship with Administration, Aug. 9, 1 p.m. EDT, and Operationalize ASCA Student Standards, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. EDT. 
• Purchase the "ASCA National Model Implementation Guide: ASCA Student Standards" (coming in August).Learn how to infuse the ASCA Student Standards into your program. 
• Download the ASCA National Model templates, which includes the annual administrative conference template, the school counseling program assessment and the other tools for managing your program.
• Download the ASCA National Model App (MApp), which includes a tool to track your time in direct/indirect student services throughout the day and allows you to create an online portfolio of your school counseling program.  Free to ASCA members.
• Sign up for the ASCA National Model Specialist training. Stay tuned for details. 
• Explore ASCA certification. The ASCA-Certified School Counselor (ACSC) certification demonstrates school counselor knowledge in designing, implementing and assessing a school counseling program. 

Standards and Positions

As you prepare for the next school year, be sure you are up to date on school counseling standards and positions:

• Access the newly revised ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. For the past several months, the ASCA Ethics Committee has been updating these standards. The 2022 version will be presented at the ASCA Annual Conference in July. Learn more about the ethical standards in a webinar on Aug. 3, 2 p.m.
• Purchase the new ASCA National Model Implementation Guide: ASCA Student Standards. This publication complements the ASCA National Model and The ASCA National Model Implementation Guide: Manage and Assess. This new publication provides sample learning objectives and examples for using the ASCA Student Standards. Purchase all three ASCA National Model publications as a bundle (a 24% savings). 
• Purchase the newest edition of "School Counseling Principles: Ethics and Law, fifth edition. The latest version includes guidance related to emerging school counseling ethical challenges. 
• Review the new ASCA position. The ASCA Position Statement Committee has revised several position statementsbased on public comments. The following position statements were adopted at the ASCA Delegate Assembly in July:
  • Character Education
  • College Access Professionals
  • LGBTQ+ Youth
  • Bullying/Harassment Prevention and Promotion of Safe Schools
  • School-Family-Community Partnerships
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Trauma-Informed Practice
  • Transgender and Nonbinary Youth
• Check out the learning objectives database for the ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. Search by keyword, grade level, domain or standard. Each learning objective is designed to meet student developmental needs and align with academic content. Almost 900 learning objectives are included in the database. Submit your own and support the school counseling profession by growing the database.