School Counseling Philosophy A Changing Institution Due to the constant change of educational reform, education is a constant change of continuum.

The education system must provide and equal and equitable education for all students. The demographics are changing in our society, and the school counselor must ensure that all citizens are receiving the same education (Martin & Robinson, 2011). In order to remain a World Power, we as educators must create students who can continue to make sure our society thrives (Martin & Robinson, 2011). We must make sure all students are equipped with the right skills to be successful. Culturally Competent As a culturally competent counselor I will strive to remove all barriers that have oppressed students in the past. We must embrace our multicultural society and diverse population (Holcomb-McCoy & Chen-Hayes, 2011). . I will embrace diversity myself, but I will also help students open their minds to the diversity around them. I will create environments that are safe and promote social justice. Interventions will be put in place that provide an equal opportunity for all students to be successful and where outcomes are desirable (Holcomb-McCoy & Chen-Hayes, 2011). I will foster power so that students are able to become self empowered and encouraged to improve their own situation. Through partnerships students who are under served will be able to receive intentional guidance to ensure success. Leadership and Advocacy

As a counselor, I plan to be a leader and advocate for all students. As a school leader I plan to collaborate with teachers, administrators, parents, and the community to promote academic achievement for all students. I plan to implement transforming school counseling programs that strive to promote excellence for all students no matter their race, background, class, language, or disability. As an academic and social advocate for students, I plan to help eliminate achievement and attainment gaps among different groups of students (Chen-Hayes, Miller, Bailey, Getch & Erford, 2011). Educational leaders must endeavor for systemic change and collaboration so that every student can be held to high academic expectations (Chen-Hayes, Miller, Bailey, Getch & Erford, 2011). I must be an active advocate for students to ensure that all students have a chance to rigorous course work. Lastly, I must not be the change I want to see, I will be responsible for caring my vision out that all have the right to receive an equal education (Chen-Hayes, Miller, Bailey, Getch & Erford, 2011). Data- Driven Programs With the vision of the 21st century counseling programs focusing on social justice, it is imperative that programs and interventions are created based upon student needs(Lee & Goodnough, 2011). My counseling programs must be able to measured for equity and equality. In order for gaps to be eliminated, data-driven systemic programs have to be put into place (Lee & Goodnough, 2011). Programs must be purposeful and meaningful so that student gaps are able to be closed. Data should be used as a tool for discovery and to measure outcomes (Lee & Goodnough, 2011). Data is a powerful resource that will be helpful to remove those barriers that stop students from making progress.

College and Career Readiness Because of the vast world of changing technology, a changing economy, and competitive emerging work force, as a counselor I have to be able to prepare students for the 21st century. Students must be independent thinkers and problem solvers to compete in this world(Akos, Niles, Miller & Erford, 2011). The process of becoming postsecondary ready must be implemented at an early age and remain a lifelong process. Accroding to Akos, Niles, Miller & Erford,( 2011), motivating my students and allowing them to make connections between the skills learned in the classroom and the skills need to be post secondary ready will help them be successful. Serving Students with Disabilities, Mental and Emotional Disorders Removing barriers so that students have positive outcomes is a goal that I aspire to achieve to promote equal opportunity for students with complex problems or disorders. Expectations will be set high and access to the general education classroom will be a must (Erford, Lee, Newsome & Rock, 2011). Collaboration with teachers, administrators, and parents will be needed so that increased performance can occur. As an advocate and voice for all students, increased prevalence and awareness must be spread throughout the education community. Providing meaningful interventions to with help with the complex problem, but to also prevent complex problems from occurring must be done (Erford, Lee, Newsome & Rock, 2011). I will use effective and efficient services and collaboration to support students with issues. Most important, I will be a voice for these students so that they too can have an equal chance to succeed educationally and socially.

Conclusion My heart has been molded into being an advocate and voice for ALL students. I feel incredibly blessed to have the natural inclination to just reach out to students. I feel that it is my mission to serve all students despite their background, cultural, disability, or complexity of their problem. As a counselor I will abide by the American School Counselor Association model to be ethical and so I can conquer my lifelong goal to reach students so they are motivated on their own to be 21st century problem solvers and critical thinkers. I want to inspire students to be lifelong learners in spite of what the world lays on their shoulders. References Akos, P., Niles, S. G., Miller, E. M., & Erford, B. T. (2011). Promoting educational and career planning in schools. In B. Erford (Ed.), Transforming the School Counseling Profession (3 ed., pp. 202-221). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Chen-Hayes, S. F., Miller, E. M., Bailey, D. F., Getch, Y. Q., & Erford, B. T. (2011). Leadership and achievement advocacy for every student. In B. Erford (Ed.), Transforming the School