I have been blessed in my ten years of experience as a school counselor to work alongside two principals who both understood the importance of a collaborative partnership between school counselors and principals.  What I appreciated most about our relationship was that each principal, one at the middle school level and one at the high school level, had a high level of respect for my position and training as a school counselor.

Both confessed that their knowledge of the role of school counselors was limited to their personal experiences rather than informed by their training in education leadership and both were open to learning more about the appropriate roles of counseling professionals.  Unfortunately, this reality is often the exception rather than the norm.  While I had the good fortune of two very open and interested principals, I realize that this is not always the experience for all counselors.

It is encouraging to me that the importance of the principal-school counselor relationship has also been recognized by the professional associations of both school counselors and secondary principals.   About a year ago the American School Counselor Association and the National Association of Secondary School Principals teamed up with the College Board  to produce two documents: (1) A Closer Look at the Principal-Counselor Relationship and (2) Finding a Way Practical Examples of How an Effective Principal-Counselor Relationship Can Lead to Success for All Students.

The first document (A Closer Look) includes results from a survey that was given to principals and school counselors.  This survey included information on what respondants saw as the most important elements and biggest barriers to a successful principal-counselor relationship, perceptions of respondents’ own principal-counselor relationship, views on counselors’ activities and improving student outcomes, biggest challenges for equity, and roles of the principal and counselor in education reform efforts.

The second document (Finding a Way) details ten characteristics of an effective principal-counselor relationship.  The characteristics are supported with practical examples of effective collaborations from seven schools across the nation.  This document also includes a self-assessment tool that counselors and principals can use to assess the degree of the presence or absence of these characteristics.

My hope is that all education leadership and school counselor training programs would include these informative resources in their preparation of future administrators and school counselors.  I also hope that you will have an opportunity to pass these documents along to your administrators and/or school counselors to highlight the importance of their collaborative relationship when it comes to the success of all students.