An important task of the professional school counselor is to collaborate with other stakeholders to help students and school achieve greater success. One way that school counselors can do this is by connecting families and teachers to resources. Whether they can be found in the community or online, connecting the right resource to the right need is pivotal for helping students succeed (Chen-Hayes, Ockerman, & Mason, 2014). School counselors should have knowledge of a wide array of resources for parents, students, and teachers. School counselors can disseminate this information in a variety of ways; a resource cabinet with brochures, information/fact sheets, and other paper sources is one effective way to have information easily accessible to all. Counselors can also send out newsletters through email, keep regularly updated social media accounts, and host educational programs for both parents and faculty. Strong communication is key to any school counselor and stakeholder relationship.
Educational programs are effective and efficient ways of distribute large amounts of information to as many stakeholders as possible. Each school counselor must look at the needs of their particular school in order to determine the types of programs that will most benefit all parties involved, but these programs do have certain commonalities. Typically programs of this nature are designed to educate stakeholders about common issues, provide possible strategies and interventions, and to provide additional resources. These programs might take the form of a faculty in-service presentation, classroom guidance lessons, a parent night, or even a community workshop.
Linked below is a presentation I created for one of my graduate courses; it related to how school counselors can effectively provide students with knowledge of puberty and sexual activity without overstepping any boundaries. It could easily be adapted for use with parents and faculty.
Here are examples of classroom guidance lesson plans and activities that I have used at my practicum and internship sites. The first link is to a classroom lesson developed to teach one of the pillars of character. The second was a part of the upper elementary school's career month. The final two were presented to 10th graders as a unit surrounding their completion of the Practice SAT. A parent letter detail everything the lessons covered was distributed after the 10th grade lessons.
One quick and easy way to update parents and staff about upcoming programs and activities is a newsletter. Linked below are two samples of newsletters I distributed as an intern. One is for parents of seniors and the other was an introductory newsletter for teachers at my school. Both provide information of importance to stakeholders and link them to additional resources as well.
Chen-Hayes, S., Ockerman, M., & Mason, E.C.M. (2014). 101 Solutions for School Counselors and Leaders in Challenging Times. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications.