School for School Counselors Podcast

GRADED: School Counseling Advocacy

• School for School Counselors • Episode 166

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Ever walked out of an “advocacy meeting” with your admin and thought, Is anything ever going to change?

You brought the data. You showed the charts. You quoted the position statements. And still, you walked away with the same ridiculous caseload, or worse- another responsibility placed on your shoulders.

All that effort doesn’t move the needle. It just keeps you running in circles.

In this episode of the School for School Counselors Podcast, I’m grading advocacy as it stands in our profession right now... and let’s just say the report card isn’t pretty.

I’ll unpack why the version of advocacy we’ve been handed sets us up to fail, the traps that keep us stuck shouting into the void, and four strategies that actually move the needle.

If you’ve ever wondered why “advocating harder” hasn’t worked for you (and what you can do differently), this episode is your permission slip to stop playing small and start leading with influence.


References (Annotated)

American School Counselor Association. (2017, December). Advocating for your school counseling program using visibility strategies [Online newsletter]. Advocacy Everyday. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/newsletters/december-2017/advocating-for-your-school-counseling-program-usin?st=nj
This piece includes ASCA’s suggestion to print business cards and introduce yourself with the correct title, examples of the “visibility” strategies counselors are told to use.

American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Author.
The central framework promoted by ASCA, often positioned as the path to respect and clarity for the profession.

American School Counselor Association. (2019). The school counselor and ratios [Position statement]. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements
States the well-known 250:1 ratio and is often used by counselors in advocacy conversations with administrators and policymakers.

American School Counselor Association. (2019). The school counselor and the role of the professional school counselor [Position statement]. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Position-Statements
Outlines the 80/20 direct vs. indirect services expectation, another widely circulated talking point in counselor advocacy.

American School Counselor Association. (2023, July–August). Advocating for the ASCA National Model. ASCA School Counselor Magazine. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/July-August-2023/Advocating-for-the-ASCA-National-Model
Reinforces the idea that promoting the Model itself is advocacy, often suggesting visibility strategies like correcting titles or distributing materials.

Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in (3rd ed.). Penguin Books.
Classic text on principled negotiation. In this episode, it supports the idea of “interest-based framing”- aligning your advocacy with campus goals, not rigid positions.

Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2020). Negotiation (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Contemporary negotiation and organizational change research. Cited here for the evidence that small, repeated asks layered over time create lasting change.


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⭐️ Want support with real-world strategies that actually work on your campus? We’re doing that every day in the School for School Counselors Mas

Speaker 1:

It is supposed to be the magic answer, the fix for impossible ratios, cafeteria duty and testing coordination. They tell you, just advocate. But if you've actually tried it, you know what happens. Most of the time, advocacy feels like you're shouting into the void. You bring your data, you tie it to student outcomes, you explain it a dozen different ways and still nothing changes. Maybe it even gets a little worse. Suddenly you're handed another responsibility in retaliation or you find yourself sidelined in decisions because you dared to speak up. And the answers are they're laughably predictable. Your admin says we don't have room to take you out of the master schedule or we don't have enough extra people to take away your cafeteria duty. Your organization says have you educated your principal about the national model? Show them this list or show them this position statement. And the experts say just gather the data and y'all. I'm a huge school counseling data nerd, so stick with me here. But even I know that that advice is usually a brush off, that that advice is usually a brush off. The way that you have been taught to advocate for your role on your campus leaves too many school counselors feeling exhausted, second-guessing themselves and wondering how long they're going to be able to do this work before they burn out. So today we're going to grade school counselor advocacy, the hashtags, the speeches, the feel-good slogans and the folks who claim to have your back but don't, and then we're going to talk about what advocacy can look like when it actually works. Hey school counselor, welcome back.

Speaker 1:

In this episode of our graded series. We're taking on one of the biggest hot-button issues in our profession advocacy. You've been told it's the answer to impossible ratios, cafeteria duty and all the other things that don't belong on your plate. But what does advocacy really mean and why does it so often feel like it amounts to nothing? And why does it so often feel like it amounts to nothing? I'll share why the way most of us advocate falls flat the gaslighting you're up against and four powerful long game strategies that can actually move the needle. So if you're ready for some straight talk, my friend, a little clarity and maybe a touch of rebellion, you're in the right place. I'm Steph Johnson and this is the School for School Counselors podcast.

Speaker 1:

All right, so let's start at the start, because if we're going to understand how advocacy became such a big issue in school counseling, we have to remember the start of the ASCA national model. It rolled out like a shiny new car at a dealership. It was polished, packaged and promised to solve everything. This was supposed to be the roadmap for what school counseling is supposed to be A clear identity, a clear set of practices and something that would finally make us undeniable. And we bought in, we went to the conferences, we downloaded the templates, we committed the domains to memory and we memorized and recited that magic 80-20 number like it was gospel. And the message was if you followed this model, you would have clarity, credibility and respect, administrators would understand you, teachers would value you and parents would know what you did.

Speaker 1:

But here's what happened instead. Counselors tried to implement it and got punched in the face by the reality of their campuses. They battled master schedules, testing demands, lunch duty, ratios that no sane human being can manage, and instead of anyone saying, ok, well, maybe the model just needs to adjust to the reality, okay, well, maybe the model just needs to adjust to the reality, the message became no, no, no, you need to adjust. You're the problem. You need to advocate harder. So now we had a framework that was supposed to make things easier but, in practice, added another layer of pressure. It gave us language, sure, but it also gave us one more way to feel like we were failing. And because our representative organization refuses to act like anything other than a sorority of industry influencers posting selfies, handing out plaques and calling it leadership, that pressure rolled downhill and it's crushing campus school counselors, who were already stretched to their absolute limits. So then the call to advocacy got even louder. You were made to believe that it was your responsibility to make this model fit, even though very little was being done at the representational level to back you up. My friend, that is the very definition of being gaslit.

Speaker 1:

And in all of this, when you looked to your so-called representative organization for help, you looked to your so-called representative organization for help, hoping to see something of what real advocacy looks like. What did they hand to you? Position statements, charts, infographics, articles. You've seen them. A position statement declaring that school counselors are advocates for the equitable treatment of all students and should strive to establish inclusive and welcoming learning environments. The one pager with the magic 250 to one ratio? Or the chart that says you should be spending 80 percent of your time in direct services newsletter, that says advocacy means communicating to stakeholders what the comprehensive school counseling program is, how it makes a difference and how it affects the success of all students, or the list of ideas like these are my personal favorites develop a brochure, print business cards to show you're an ASCA member or introduce yourself with the right terminology to show you're an ASCA member or introduce yourself with the right terminology.

Speaker 1:

I mean, it sounds official maybe, but here's the problem. Those things don't buy your way out of the master schedule. They don't keep you from being assigned 504 coordination and they don't protect you from cafeteria duty. And worse, when you actually use these so-called advocacy tools, they often get turned right back on you. They'll say if you're not spending 80% of your time in direct services, maybe you're not following the model correctly. Or if you're still being asked to coordinate testing, maybe you haven't educated your administrator enough. Give me a break.

Speaker 1:

And then, if you hop on ASCA's social media feeds, what do you see? You see pageantry. You see quote graphics, national School Counseling Week, hashtags, awards, selfies and plaques. What don't you see? You don't see a single coordinated call for legislative action, no bold stands on staffing mandates and no real pushes for policy change. Y'all it's branding. It's not a movement. And at this point I'd argue it would actually be more ethical for ASCA to rebrand itself. They ought to adopt a name that calls it what it really is.

Speaker 1:

I suggest the SCTA School Counseling Tools Association, because tools are what they provide Position statements, charts, infographics, tools without strategy, tools without teeth and tools that shift the burden right back onto you. And if all of that sounds familiar, it's probably because you've seen the same playbook in other corners of our profession the teachers, pay teachers folks, the Instagram and TikTok influencers, the ones that are desperate to use Ask a Language to legitimize their own printable packs or personal brands Y'all it's all the same hustle, package the tools, polish them up with some catchy taglines and sell them as a solution. Meanwhile, who ends up carrying the real weight? You do, the campus counselor, who's told that if the wrench doesn't work, you must be holding it wrong. This is the advocacy myth, when we try to advocate through these printable materials and feel-good language, with no real systemic change and constant reminders that it's always your responsibility to make the model fit, even when the system refuses to back you up, refuses to back you up. I've told this story before, but this is how I conceptualize advocacy in school counseling. The way that you were taught to advocate looks a little bit like this Imagine your administrators and stakeholders for your school all gathering together in a quaint little cottage somewhere sitting down to have some tea and as they're sitting down and looking forward to the conversation, maybe talking through next steps for the campus or whatever the goals might be, all of a sudden someone comes blazing out of the forest up to the cottage and starts beating on the windows and doors and they're yelling things like hey, hey, you got to let me in.

Speaker 1:

You've got to listen to me. There is a better way. I know how to do it. You've got to let me in. I've got to tell you how we can do this better. This isn't fair. We need to change things. We've got to do it right now. What? This isn't fair. We need to change things. We've got to do it right now. What are the people in the cottage going to do? Are they going to open the door and say sure, come on in, crazy person, come shout at us some more? Or are they going to lock the windows and doors and make sure they keep you out?

Speaker 1:

So many school counselors have been told if you just print these materials and present them to your administrator, they should do the trick. Have another meeting, have another conversation, present some more information and eventually you will wear them down. That is the same as running around beating on the windows and the doors. What we ought to be doing is positioning ourselves in a way that we get invited in through the front door, where there's an open invitation that's extended, where people are glad to see us show up and they want to hear what we have to say. But when we try to browbeat folks with all of this information, it never works, and if you've tried it, you know it does not work.

Speaker 1:

I have advised and mentored thousands of school counselors across the country and I can tell you honestly, 100 percent, I have never, ever, ever heard of the typical school counseling advocacy approach working anywhere. There has to be a better way. So if we're going to grade where school counselor advocacy stands today, well, I'm sure it does not surprise you to know that it doesn't exactly make the honor roll. Surprise you to know that it doesn't exactly make the honor roll. I'm going to give it a D+. Here's why the plus comes from the fact that school counselors are speaking up more than ever before. We are naming our roles. We are putting language out there that says this is what school counseling should be and, to be honest, that is progress compared to where we were 20 years ago.

Speaker 1:

But that flip side of it is, our approaches are so reactive and surface level. It's like standing in a corner begging for recognition instead of building undeniable influence in a room that was opened for you. It's like burning out while you're drowning and you're wondering why nobody's throwing you anything to hang on to. So our current state of school counseling advocacy gets a D+. It's well-intentioned in some ways, but it's not strategic enough. And it looks good on paper but, honestly, is not moving the needle. Now that may make you cringe a little bit, because I will bet that you've been trying. You've sent the emails, you've had the meetings, you've shared the charts and you've done everything the so-called experts have told you to do.

Speaker 1:

Our lack of progress in the field of school counseling is not because of lack of effort. It's for lack of power. We don't have the leadership to drive it home and that's why we're stuck at a D+. And the truth is we can't settle for that, not when the stakes are this high, not when our students need more from us now than they ever have. So the question becomes what does it take to raise the grade?

Speaker 1:

If the version of advocacy that we've been handed leaves us pounding on windows or standing in a corner begging for recognition, then what does real advocacy actually look like? Well, I'll tell you. It's not about adding more noise to the mix. It's not about making more posters or quoting each other more, or presenting one more stakeholder presentation. Real advocacy is about power. It's about shifting systems so that you're not asking to be seen. You're already positioned at the table. This is going to be difficult without strong representation, and if you feel like I'm leaning hard on ASCA right now, you are right, because I am hoping, against all hope, that these folks are going to listen and understand what I am trying to say. If we do not dip our toes in the water of true advocacy soon, we will become obsolete. So what can we do?

Speaker 1:

First, true advocacy requires data, but probably not in the way you've been told. It's not about cherry picking a few weeks of numbers to paste into a chart, like you do in a ramp application. It's about consistent. In a ramp application, it's about consistent, credible evidence of how your time is used, how students are impacted and how your work connects to campus outcomes. Negotiation research is clear People who come prepared with concrete data and defined goals are far more likely to succeed. Data is preparation and y'all preparation is power. Because when you walk in a room with real numbers, you're not making a plea anymore, you're making a case.

Speaker 1:

Second, advocacy requires alignment. I hate to break it to you, but your administration is not lying awake at night worrying about whether you're 250 to 1 or hitting 80-20. They're thinking about attendance and test scores and behavior and graduation rates. So the language of advocacy has to connect your role to their priorities. That's what negotiation research calls interest-based framing, where you're focusing on shared interests, not rigid positions. So instead of saying I need more counseling time because that's what ASCA says, you say if I'm released from all this cafeteria duty, I can run interventions that cut office referrals by 20%. That's the kind of advocacy that lands. It speaks directly to what your administrator already cares about. So it's going to make an impression. Now you might be wondering how in the world am I going to know how to make a statement like that and know that I can live up to it? That's a tall order, right? I can run interventions that cut office referrals by 20%. That's a big promise. I have a solution around that in just a minute, so keep listening around that in just a minute. So keep listening.

Speaker 1:

Third, advocacy is collective. One lone counselor asking for change is easy to dismiss, but when teachers, parents and sometimes even students are voicing the same message, it becomes leverage. This ties directly into something called the anchoring effect, which says that the first clear offer or request in a conversation often sets the tone for the entire discussion. Imagine the difference between starting a conversation with I'd like more counseling time versus a coalition saying we believe our school deserves a full-time school counselor. That anchor, especially when it's voiced by multiple stakeholders, changes the entire conversation. And this is why I come down so hard on ASCA and its subpar advocacy efforts. Because if a single counselor can shift the tone with coalitions at the local level, imagine what a national organization could do if it actually prioritized real advocacy. But instead we're getting selfies and plaques and graphics when what we should be seeing is a national education effort in the media, pressure campaigns with school boards and coordinated messaging that amplifies counselors' voices at every level.

Speaker 1:

And finally, advocacy requires patience. You will probably not get results in one meeting or one email or even one whole school year. Research on organizational change shows that small, repeated asks, layered over time, are what create lasting shifts, which means if you tried once and nothing happened, that does not mean you failed. That means you took step one. And the other part that a lot of people forget about is that advocacy is relational. If you want to build a long game, you have to build rapport with your administrators. They may not always say yes to what you want, but if they trust you, if they believe that you're collaborative and competent and consistent because that's what you've been showing them they're far more likely to open the door the next time that you knock.

Speaker 1:

True advocacy is cumulative, yes, but it's also relational, and without rapport, your persistence just ends up looking like nagging. So if you're listening and thinking, okay, I would love to advocate in these ways, but I don't even know where to start. I will tell you that's exactly what we're doing inside of our mastermind Now national coalitions. We can't help you there yet. Stay tuned, who knows what will happen? But here's what we can 100% do, and I know it because we're doing it right now.

Speaker 1:

We've built systems to help you track data without overwhelm, systems that give you the support in a step-by-step process that makes data collection manageable instead of intimidating. We have also expanded our data cohort to bring in campus-level metrics alongside of your use of time, and we're providing the templates and the trackers that you need, plus consultation that gives you the confidence to make bold strategic statements. Remember when you were wondering how you can make those kinds of statements to your admin? I can run interventions that cut office referrals by 20%. That's not something that you pick out of thin air or something that sounds impressive. That's based off of your campus data and consultation with people who have similar campus situations. When you have the right background knowledge to bring to the table, those assertions become really easy. And we also focus hard on relationships through our smart school counseling framework. So you're not just advocating with numbers, you're advocating with trust and credibility behind you.

Speaker 1:

My friend, that's the work, that's the shift, and if you want to raise your own grade in advocacy without burning out the mastermind, is where we are doing it together and we are proving that it works. So here's what I want to leave you with in this episode. I know that advocacy can often feel like a waste of time. I know it can feel like. You've tried, you've pushed, you've asked and nothing has changed. And I know that all of the gaslighting in our industry has enabled that little voice in the back of your mind to whisper. Maybe it's just me, but I'm going to tell you, friend to friend. But I'm going to tell you friend to friend, it's not you, it's the system and it's the broken version of advocacy that we've been given. The good news is you're not powerless, you're not voiceless and you don't have to settle for D plus advocacy.

Speaker 1:

Real advocacy isn't about banging on doors or waving charts around in the air. It's about showing up with evidence, speaking the language your campus already cares about building coalitions that can't be ignored and playing the long game with persistence and with trust. That's how we stop standing in the corner begging to be seen and start leading from the center of the room, even when we feel ignored by those that are supposed to be representing us. So if you want support for this, if you want step-by-step tools and a place to practice the conversations with the community that will back you up every single week and know your name, that's what we have inside of the mastermind. Advocacy isn't something that you should have to push through alone. That is exhausting. It feels demoralizing and, frankly, makes you wonder why you got into this field in the first place, this field in the first place.

Speaker 1:

I don't want you to be there. We always say that we are stronger and smarter together, and I truly believe that. I also believe in you and I believe in all of us. I believe that our profession does not have to stay stuck. So are you with me? I sure hope you are, because we need all the help that we can get. Hey, I'm Steph Johnson. This has been the School for School Counselors podcast and I'm going to be back soon with another episode. In the meantime, I hope you have the best week Now. Go raise that grade and we're going to talk again soon. Take care.

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