Change-Agent-for-Equity (CAFE) Model: A Framework for School Counselor Identity

Significant recent influences in the profession have provided clear direction about what school counseling programs should look like but have not explicitly defined the professional identity necessary to enact these programs. A Change-Agent-for-Equity (CAFE) Model draws from the American School Counselor Association National Model (2003, 2005, 2012) and the tenets of the National Center for Transforming School Counseling (Martin, 2002), proposing that the school counselor’s professional identity is central to school counseling programs and program outcomes. A case scenario is presented to illustrate the CAFE model in context

Developing School Counseling Students’ Social Justice Orientation Through Service Learning

Counselor educators must examine the quality and intentionality of coursework and field experiences offered to their students as the role of school counselors continues to transform. The emphasis in the field on school counselors as social justice agents and advocates should be reflected in school counselor training programs. The authors present a two-course sequence using pre-practicum service learning as a valuable program component for assisting school counseling students to develop a social justice orientation

The ABCs of TSC: How One Counselor Education Department Transformed its School Counseling Program

There is an urgent need to revise school counselor education programs to better prepare future professional school counselors to meet the challenges of today’s K-12 students. Counselor educators at DePaul University recently made significant curricular and programmatic changes aligned with the Education Trust’s Transforming School Counseling Initiative (TSCI). This manuscript details the steps involved with these extensive revisions and encourages other counselor education programs to consider making similar modifications

School Counselors and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports: Cultivating Systemic Change and Equitable Outcomes

Designed to improve preK–12 student academic and behavioral outcomes, a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), such as Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) or Response to Intervention (RTI), is a broadly applied framework being implemented in countless schools across the United States. Such educational restructuring and system changes require school counselors to adjust their activities and interventions to fully realize the aims of MTSS. In this special issue of The Professional Counselor, the roles and functions of school counselors in MTSS frameworks are examined from various angles. This introductory article summarizes the key issues and the basic themes explored by the special issue contributors

Integrating RTI With School Counseling Programs: Being a Proactive Professional School Counselor

With the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) across many states, the school counseling profession must be proactive in establishing its critical role in this process. This article outlines the three essential and shared components between RTI and comprehensive, developmental school counseling programs. Each of these integral and overlapping constructs are discussed and linked to practical applications, implications, and recommendations for professional school counselors’ future practice and research

School Counseling Supervision in Challenging Times: The CAFE Supervisor Model

Given the increased need for school counselors to proactively address the pervasive achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps, school counselor preparation should move from traditional supervision models to one with an equitable K-12 student outcomes focus. The Change Agent for Equity (CAFE) model presented can help school counselors-in-training foster a change agent identity, aimed at helping all K-12 students succeed and reach their postsecondary dreams. The CAFE model and the supervisor’s identity and supervision practices within the model are described. Additionally, internship assignments and rubrics are outlined and supervisory recommendations and implications are discussed

Perceptions of Leadership and Clarity of Roles within Multi-Tiered Systems: A Structural Equation Model

Response to Intervention (RTI), and its current enhanced form reflected in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, is one the largest educational reforms in recent history, with states adopting it for both special education placements and monitoring the academic, social, and emotional learning of all students. The present study utilizes data from a national survey of school counselors to investigate perceived school counselor preparedness in RTI. Direct and indirect effects are examined. Implications for pre- service and in-service training are discussed

Preparation of School Counselors and Response to Intervention: A Profession at the Crossroads

As a result of the Response to Intervention (RTI) mandate in schools across many states, school counselors are uniquely positioned to a take a leadership role within its implementation. This research study examines how school counselors in one such state perceive their training and knowledge of RTI and thus their confidence in implementing it. Implications for training, supervision, professional development and future research are discussed

Preparation of School Counselors and Response to Intervention: A Profession at the Crossroads

As a result of the Response to Intervention (RTI) mandate in schools across many states, school counselors are uniquely positioned to a take a leadership role within its implementation. This research study examines how school counselors in one such state perceive their training and knowledge of RTI and thus their confidence in implementing it. Implications for training, supervision, professional development and future research are discussed

Building Teacher Empathy and Culturally Responsive Practice Through Professional Development and Self-Reflection

Today’s teachers face growing demands and mandates to support every aspect of a student’s academic success, with additional expectations to support students’ social and emotional needs both inside and outside of the classroom. In the face of increasing student cultural, racial and linguistic diversity, the teaching pool remains relatively homogeneous, consisting largely of white, European-American educators. This disconnect between the lived experiences of teachers and their students makes it difficult for teachers to value and connect to a diverse student body. This qualitative study explores how a collaborative multi-tiered critical professional development model between a non-for-profit organization and a University, shaped educators’ thinking about teaching, their students, and their role as change agents. The model provides sustained pre- and in-service training in social justice, empathy-building, and culturally responsive pedagogy to help teachers support diverse student groups. We present findings regarding the impact of this program on teacher practice and the ways in which teachers repositioned themselves as reflective, empathic, culturally responsive and socially just educators