School Counseling to Close the Achievement Gap
A Social Justice Framework for Success
- Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy - Dean, School of Education, American University
"The author is way ahead of the game on this one. This book is sorely needed in schools today. I work with several schools and would recommend using this material in counselor inservice programs and graduate counselor education classes."
—Sharon K. Johnson, Coeditor
Building Stronger School Counseling Programs
"A groundbreaking book for school counselors and school counselor educators, with great examples, practical suggestions, and powerful theory. The author encourages using a social justice advocacy lens to help counselors and counseling programs close the achievement gap."
—Stuart F. Chen-Hayes, Associate Professor of Counselor Education
Lehman College of the City University of New York
"I would recommend this book to every education student, school counselor, and urban educator."
—Jennifer White-Peters, School Counselor
Burlington City Junior School, NJ
Be a major player in improving student development and performance!
School counselors can play a powerful role in closing the achievement gap when they incorporate the principles of social justice into their practice. In this much-needed resource for preservice and inservice counselors, Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy addresses factors (such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, and classism) that can contribute to academic failure, and challenges readers to play an active role in creating equitable educational environments.
The author provides a variety of strategies to support school counselors in six key functions—counseling, consulting, coordinating services, connecting schools to families and communities, collecting and analyzing data, and challenging bias—and shows counselors how to advocate for the healthy development and academic success of all students. Readers will find:
- Counseling snapshots of challenging situations
- Small-group activities for students
- Suggested readings for extending learning
- Individual and group reflective questions to deepen understanding
School Counseling to Close the Achievement Gap is the ideal road map for promoting equity in schools, increasing students' academic performance, and enhancing their personal growth.
"The author is way ahead of the game on this one. This book is sorely needed in schools today. I would recommend purchasing it for counselor inservice programs, and I would use it in my graduate counselor education classes."
"A groundbreaking book for school counselors and school counselor educators. The author encourages the use of a social justice lens to help school counselors and school counseling programs close the achievement gap. Great examples, practical suggestions, and powerful theory."
"This book will fulfill a major void in the school counseling literature."
"I would recommend this publication to every education student, school counselor, and urban educator."
"Tackles a major educational problem head on and takes a thematic perspective that is relevant to most school counselors' daily lives."
"An item of choice for both college-level education collections and practicing school counselors. From small-group activities for students to individual issues, this book provides a winning set of examples and strategies."
"The book is grounded in the author's real-world experiences and frustration with schools that fail to help students achieve. Holcomb-McCoy's passion and her goal to help school counselors understand equity and social justice are to be applauded."
This book provides a strong background on social justice issues related to school counseling. It was an excellent text for school counselors in training.
Practical application. Focus on data
Holcomb-McCoy's is best in the field.