Achieving Excellence in School Counseling through Motivation, Self-Direction, Self-Knowledge and Relationships

A new research-based approach to the design, delivery and evaluation of K–12 school counseling programs

Learn about a Construct-Based Approach (CBA) to school counseling that uses four research-based constructs to focus school counseling programs on areas that can significantly increase the impact on student achievement and school improvement. Discover essential school counseling processes in which all students participate: student planning, academic support, college and career readiness, and personal growth and social interaction.

 The authors, leading educational experts, use research to refocus attention on student results, a challenging results-based school counseling curriculum, and meaningful student assessments. See examples of how a CBA looks in practice with the following: 

• In-depth analysis of student standards and competencies
• Developmentally-appropriate scope and sequence
• Documented curriculum activities
• Sample student assessments  

An online toolkit consisting of electronic files with structured processes, clearly-defined protocols and easy-to-use tools to help implement a CBA is also available. 

This groundbreaking approach can help transform your counseling program. You will love it. Your students will love it. Get started today!

Dr. Karl Squier is President of Lady of the Lake Learning Systems, a consulting organization specializing in K-12 school counseling and school improvement initiatives. His professional interests include building communities of dialog and self-reflection, designing school counseling programs based on standards of excellence, delivering a challenging school counseling curriculum that maximizes students’ potential for learning, using assessments that enable students to continuously improve their learning, and evaluating the impact of delivering a school counseling program on student achievement and school quality. Dr. Squier is a long-time advocate of school counselors as fundamental to quality schools and student achievement. He is a recipient of a Rhode Island School Counselor Association’s (RISCA) School Counselor Advocate of the Year Award.

Dr. Patricia Nailor has worked as a counselor practitioner in public schools and has served as a founding member and president of the Rhode Island School Counselor Association (RISCA). She has also served as president of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). Dr. Nailor retired as Director of the Department of Counseling and Social Services in the Providence Public Schools. Currently she is an adjunct instructor at Providence College where she teaches in the Counselor Education Program. Dr. Nailor manages the school counseling consulting services of Lady of the Lake Learning Systems. She is the recipient of a RISCA Lifetime Achievement Award, given in recognition of a lifetime of dedication and service to students, and to building and promoting the school counseling profession.

Dr. John Carey is Director of the Ronald H. Fredrickson Center for School Counseling Outcome Research & Evaluation and Professor of School Counseling at UMASS Amherst. He is a recipient of an American School Counseling Association (ASCA) Counselor Educator of the Year Award. Dr. Carey is included on the Fulbright Specialist Roster and works internationally to improve school-based counseling and school counselor education. His research interests include school counseling outcome measurement, policy research in school-based counseling, standards-based models of school counseling, and the development of research-based interventions to promote academic achievement and eliminate the achievement gap. He is coeditor of Multicultural Counseling in Schools: A Practical Handbook.