Dr. Mandy Savitz-Romer of Harvard Graduate School of Education sees counselors as schools’ academic conscience, the hub for providing holistic support to students. To be effective, they need a seat at the leadership table. Respondents in Savitz-Romer’s 1000-counselor survey described obstacles and successes in serving students during the pandemic.
Overview
00:00-00:46 Intros
00:46-03:30 School counselors’ roles and how they’ve changed over time
03:30-05:11 A better model for counseling
05:11-08:18 Contracts, guidelines, protections for counselors; caseloads
08:18-10:54 Equity issues and time for neediest students
10:54-13:48 Counselors as “academic conscience of the school”
13:48-17:29 Counselors’ roles, stress, and evaluation
17:29-19:20 Support resources for counselors
19:20-23:28 Helping students with the “why” of college and career
23:28-27:15 1000-counselor pandemic survey results
27:15-30:30 Helping students with college and careers in context of family expectations and needs, especially during pandemic
30:30-34:59 Lessons learned from experience during pandemic
34:59-36:30 Outro
Transcript
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References
- Report Expanding support beyond the virtual classroom: Lessons and recommendations from school counselors during the COVID-19 crisis
- Book Fulfilling the Promise: Reimagining School Counseling to Advance Student Success
- Book Ready, Willing and Able
- Mandy discusses her book in more detail during this episode of The Harvard EdCast
- Op Ed Shocked by the college admissions scandal? School counselors aren’t by Mandy on the Hechinger Report
- Watch Personal Statement, an Emmy nominated feature-lenght documentary film about three seniors at Brooklyn high schools struggling to get themselves and their peers to college.
Soundtrack by Podington Bear