NASSP Bulletin

Here's a look at how admin istrative and counseling func tions can dovetail in some typical school situations.

The role of today's school counselor is dramatically dif ferent than it was originally, according to this writer, who reviews the scope of the job as it exists today.

This writer argues that guid ance counselors should have the authority to place at-risk learners in nonconventional educational programs to ensure that those learners who, for social, educational, and emotional reasons are not benefiting fully from the traditional educational pro cess will acquire the basic skills they will need to func tion productively in society.

Today's students and tomor row's workers will be better able to make decisions about their futures if they are given the chance to explore tenta tive interests and career choices while completing their formal education. Social skills, academic skills, and job/career information can all be acquired and enhanced through community/school partnerships.

This writer offers some guidelines school officials can consider in the develop ment of crisis intervention procedures. Particular emphasis is placed on the issue of the student's right to privacy and the confidentiali ty of counselor-client com munications. This approach reflects an ethical perspec tive with obvious legal over tones.

To what extent are non-coun selors employed in counsel ing roles? To answer this question, ASCA conducted a survey. A brief review fol lows. Readers might wish to compare the practices in their districts to those report ed here.

Amidst calls from the Holmes Group and the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy for substantial edu cation reform, a group of administrators and a group of teachers were asked to express their support or opposition to these propos als. The responses raise some questions about the proposals' chance for suc cess.

Increasingly, we are hearing of violent incidents in schools. This writer believes administrators must take steps to ensure that intruders cannot easily gain access to school buildings, and offers some suggestions to achieve that goal.

A four-phase process to involve teachers in the schools' decisions and some strategies principals can use to help teachers participate more fully in school decision making are detailed here.

Administrators may be held liable for accidents that occur in the science classroom or laboratory. They may take some simple steps to ensure a safer environment and avoid possible injury and resultant litigation.

This writer participated in a field study of some signifi cant school restructuring ini tiatives. In some respects, he says, his work is analogous to the effective schools research conducted during the past two decades. He attempted to find school sys tems producing the best results, in an effort to identify a formula that others might follow.