Exemplar # 5: ASCA Model

STANDARDS: 17, 23, 27

Introduction
The ASCA model is a comprehensive assignment that coordinates all that we have
learned in the school counseling program. The assignment required partnerships with our school
site and team members, in order to create an ASCA school counseling program. As school
counselors, it is our responsibility to ensure our programs are aligned with our national standards
and that we follow the foundation, delivery, management, and accountability components of the
professional organizations model. Taking the time to create a strong ASCA model school
counseling program required a lot of dedication, organization, and purposefulness. I am thankful
to have had the guidance of faculty, alumni, teammates, and site supervisors to help me navigate
through the intricacies of the models components.
Standards Met
Standard 17: Foundations of the School Counseling Profession
In order to create an ASCA aligned program, it is essential to have a strong foundation
and understanding of the school counseling profession. In our ASCA Model I and II classes, we
learned the history of the ASCA National Model and its development overtime. Understanding
how school counseling has changed and developed over time helps provide insight into the
importance of remaining aligned with the essential elements of the program. Building the ASCA
model book taught me how to integrate the foundation, delivery, management, and accountability
components among one another, and how they are each interdependent. Through the practical

application at my field-site I learned how essential the themes of systemic change, collaboration,
advocacy, and leadership play in order to make an effective counselling program.
Standard 23: Advocacy
While each theme is essential to the ASCA model school counseling program, I believe
creating the book taught me the most about advocacy. Being a school counselor is focused on
removing academic barriers for students through creating comprehensive programs and
curriculums to serve the needs of the students. Building the ASCA model book taught me how to
interpret data to find achievement gaps, align program goals based off of data, and then create
guidance, small group, and individual curriculums to advance students personal/social,
academic, and post-secondary developmental goals. I believe advocacy is an important element
to the ASCA model because it puts the counselor in the position of authority to advocate for
students to in order to remove systemic, organizational, interpersonal, and intrapersonal barriers
to learning. At Westview, students have open access to course selection, which often leads to
young students overloading themselves with AP courses. Through creating a systems change
intentional guidance lesson on creating balance in a students schedule and assembling a team to
meet regularly to come up with a tiered AP access enrollment process, we were able to advocate
for a systemic change. In this scenario, we needed to protect students from the pressure they put
on themselves and peers to over-challenge themselves academically; therefore, it was necessary
to advocate to change the policies in place to decrease student stress.
Standard 27: Collaboration, Coordination, and Team Building
One of the key lessons I have learned over the last two years is that no part of a school
system is an island. Each component of the school, like the ASCA model, is dependent on one

another. Building the ASCA model project taught me the importance of collaborating,
coordinating, and working together as a team with my fellow counseling team members,
administration, teachers, parents, and many others. When building our ASCA program, one
element that required the greatest collaboration and coordination was the creation and
implementation of the 9th grade core curriculum lesson. It was necessary to coordinate with the
teachers of the classes we would be teaching, as well as the teachers who usually utilize the
computer lab, and the counseling team to ensure our time was being used appropriately.
Additionally, we needed to collaborate with the counseling staff and administration to identify
the needs of the school to ensure the relevance and importance of the material we would be
presenting. Through working with all team members we were able to present an effective lesson
to the 9th grade students that related to the educational mission and goals of Westview.
Professional Application
Taking on the task of creating an ASCA model book is a large undertaking for any school
counselor. I think creating an ASCA model project such as the one we compiled would be
essential to having an effective and proactive school counseling program. In my role as a school
counselor, I would want to take my time implementing and creating a program. I think my first
step would be to do a counseling program assessment and see what the counseling program has
in place, and then slowly begin to gather and incorporate additional elements to slowly build a
program. I think by taking this approach, I can help ease and naturally make changes without
overstressing or burdening a counseling team. I am thankful to have had the time and opportunity
to create a comprehensive school counseling program throughout the year to take with me and
implement as a professional at my school site.

Final Reflections
In order to create an ASCA model school counseling program, I believe it takes a lot of
intentionality and dedication from all team members. It would be overwhelming as a single
school counselor along with a full case-load to take on single handedly. Therefore, it really is
important to communicate with all team members of the counseling team, and ensure you all
share the same mission, vision, and goals for increasing student outcomes. I am looking forward
to the time when I am on a team and we can collaborate together to advocate for the needs of our
students and implement programs that make a positive impact on our students.