School principals and school counselors have the ability to forge a unique collaborative relationship to improve student achievement. Historically, school counselors have altered the primary focus of their work as deemed by the perspective of their principals.With an emphasis on improving student success in school, this study revealed the differences in counselor-principal priorities and perceptions and suggests the importance of counselor and principal collaboration to support this common goal.

Expectations run high that accountability for student outcomes will continue to drive the education agenda with reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965). School counselors have also recognized the imperative to connect their work to school improvement goals. This article discusses action research undertaken by school counselors who used data‐informed practice to align counseling programs with the accountability expectations of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002) and the American School Counselor Association (2003, 2005) National Model.

This article outlines the evolving leadership and advocacy roles of the school counselor in supporting the principal in the effort to move schools toward rigorous academic achievement for all. Partnership efforts already underway by school counselors and principals nationwide are also examined.

Legal support for advocacy on behalf of gay male, lesbian, and bisexual male and female students was determined in a May 1999 Supreme Court ruling. This ruling, coupled with recent interpretations of the Title IX statute, strengthens the position for a more humanistic school environment. Recommendations for school counselors are included in this article. Apoyo legal para la abogacía en nombre de estudiantes homosexuales, lesbianas y bisexuales se determino en una decisión de la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos en Mayo de 1999. Esta decisión, en conjunto con interpretaciones recientes del estatuto “Title IX,” intensifica la postura que pide un ambiente más humanístico en las escuelas. Recomendaciones para consejeros escolares se incluyen en este artículo.

Leadership is a central role of the school counselor. However, this role is often intimidating to school counselors and school counseling students when viewed as a solitary undertaking. In contrast to the view that leadership is an individual responsibility, the distributed leadership perspective offers a counterview in which school leadership is stretched over multiple leaders. The application of the distributed leadership perspective to school counseling practice might serve to alleviate school counselor apprehension regarding leadership, while contributing to an understanding of “how” this leadership occurs, as well as how it might be improved.