Building Great School Counselor-Administrator Teams

A Systematic Approach to Supporting Students, Staff, and the Community (Balancing Guidance Counselor and Administrator Responsibilities)

By working together, school administrators and guidance counselors can greatly accelerate their impact on school improvement, student behavior, and mental health. With this practical guide, readers will discover a systematic approach for establishing an effective school counselor-administrator team. The authors share strategies and activities to foster trust and transparency, develop an agreed-on decision-making process, ensure a commitment to continuous improvement, and more.

Use this book to develop effective processes for your counselors and administrators to better support students:

• Navigate the evolving roles of school counselors and administrators to build high-performance teams.
• Examine the concepts of purposeful collaboration and consensus building: the implementation, uses, and benefits to including them in your group decision-making model.
• Learn the six characteristics of high-performing teams: (1) trust and transparency, (2) results orientation, (3) building professional relationships, (4) respect for diversity and divergent thought, (5) an agreed-on decision-making process, and (6) a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Consider ethical decisions for students, parents and guardians, and other stakeholders.
• Participate in professional development activities on leadership, ethical decision-making, confidentiality, crisis management, and more.