Principal and School Counselor Collaboration Toward More Socially Just Schools

School leaders’ perceptions on comprehensive school counseling (CSC) evaluation processes: Adherence and implementation of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model

“…A principal preparation program can better prepare school leaders to effectively collaborate with school counselors by further emphasizing this important aspect of school leadership (Boyland et al, 2019). Specifically, principal preparation programs can go beyond instilling general leadership skills that are applicable to supporting school counselors, and can also focus more directly on content related to the appropriate roles of a school counselor, skill-building for how to collaborate with a school counselor, the social-emotional needs of students, and the development of socially just schools (Boyland et al, 2019;Lowery et al, 2018;Lowery et al, 2019). Interestingly, in this study, no statistically significant differences emerged in perceptions among school leaders based on school size, student population information, or urbanicity.…”

School Counselors and Principals Serving as Co-Conspirators for Antiracist Program Evaluation

“…Principals are no longer viewed through the outdated lens of solely being responsible for managing school operations and supervising teachers. Today's principals are seen as agents of change, instructional experts (Lowery, Boyland, et al, 2019), and social justice leaders (DeMatthews et al, 2020). While principals have an overwhelming influence within schools to drive students' academic success, they also have the imperative to improve school structures, enhance staff capacity, and strengthen school culture and community (DeMatthews et al, 2020).…”

“…Only through this intentional, shared social justice leadership and role alignment can school counselors and principals, with fidelity, utilize data and program evaluation practices to identify existing racist structures and create an inclusive culture where all voices are heard. Lowery, Boyland, et al (2019) identified that shared leadership through data-informed decision making is a primary way of establishing bridging social capital in schools. Principals and school counselors are well versed in data collection, disaggregation, analysis, and evaluation procedures.…”

“…The first step to building bridging social capital is to radically re-envision what it means for principals and school counselors to collaborate. Principals play a significant role in creating social capital because they carry the responsibility of leading change and reform efforts (Lowery, Boyland, et al, 2019). Principals are no longer viewed through the outdated lens of solely being responsible for managing school operations and supervising teachers.…”

“…Trained in collaboration and social justice advocacy, school counselors are a vital resource in promoting equitable and inclusive schools (Boyland et al, 2019). However, for these endeavors to be successful, principals must openly communicate, collaborate, and create structures of support for school counselors (Lowery et al, 2018; Lowery, Mayes, et al, 2019).…”