Program management can sometimes be an overlooked aspect of a comprehensive school counseling program. This is because management of the program is often in the background and less noticeable than a component such as delivery. School counselors manage their program by reevaluating foundational aspects of the program such as the mission statement and vision statement; goals for the program should also be managed regularly. Counselors should use these aspects to evaluate strengths of the program, areas of growth through professional development, and new goals for the program. Management of the program should also include logging hours of service and creating/planning curriculum and events. This is a prime opportunity for counselors to use data in their program. Counselors can manage their program by using school data and program data to assess the needs and effectiveness of programs. When logging service hours it is important to evaluate how time is spent; counselors should look to see whether they are devoting appropriate time to direct and indirect student services, while minimizing the amount of time spent doing other tasks not as related to counseling duties.
While evaluating their use of time, counselors should also make time to meet with the administration of the school to develop an annual agreement, this agreement should list the counselor’s specific responsibilities, professional development areas for the counselor, rationale for the program, and reflect the mission of the program, as well as the school. This agreement should be reviewed yearly so that it is up-to-date, and if administration changes the agreement can be used to explain the counselor’s role to anyone new. Counselors also manage their programs by creating advisory councils to assist them in setting program goals, reviewing data and results, and advocating for the program. The council should consist of stakeholders such as parents, teachers, students, administrators, and community members.