School counselors provide a myriad of services to students, parents, and staff.  They focus on removing the social, emotional or other barriers that hinder learning and interfere with student success.  Their primary goal is to help all students develop skills in the area of personal and social growth, educational planning, and career and vocational development.  Each elementary and middle school is served by one school counselor, while high schools have two counselors and a drop-out prevention coordinator at each site. RCS Early College has one counselor and SCORE (the alternative school) also has one counselor. 

Duties and responsibilities include: 

• Providing individual and group counseling services to meet the developmental, social, emotional, and educational needs of students as well as career/vocational aspirations.

• Consulting with students, parents, teachers, and other school and community personnel to assist in evaluating and meeting the academic needs of students.

• Adhering to ethical standards of the counseling profession, and abiding by the laws, policies, and procedures that govern the schools.  The counselor also participates in professional associations and professional development to keep knowledge and skills current. 

• Coordinating all counseling services and community-based projects for students and assisting with the coordination and implementation of student services within the school.

• Serving on (or chairing) the Student Services Management Team, School Improvement Team and other leadership teams. 

• May serve as school test coordinator when appointed by the school principal. A School Testing Coordinator may coordinate the testing schedule, secure test materials, assign administrators and proctors, train staff, and create sections for students with accommodations. 

• Accurately interpreting test results and other student data.  The counselor also assists teachers with the educational placement of students by using appropriate educational assessment strategies.

• Establishing a comprehensive school counseling program and developing activities and resources to implement and evaluate the program.  The school counselor involves other school staff in making decisions about the counseling program.