Counseling Department Organization

One of the challenges of a counseling department in a medium or large high school is how to organize the counseling staff. That is,  how are students assigned a counselor? The two most common ways to divide students are either by grade level or last name. I have worked under both systems. I am in my sixth year at my high school. During my first year, I worked with a specific alphabet range, different grade levels. After my first year, a new principal came on board and he switched our organization to a grade level, looping system.

Below are some of the pros and cons of each system from my perspective:

Alphabet Range
The alphabet range system facilitates continuity and consistency for students. Assuming nothing is changed, the student will have the same counselor for all four years. The setup also allows for an equitable distribution of counseling duties. Generally speaking,  my experience has been that senior year is very labor-intensive because of credit checks, college applications, and scholarships. The alphabet range format divides the intensive senior work to multiple counselors. Additionally,  under the alphabet range system,you stay fresh on things which are unique to each grade level. For example, instead of only dealing with the college process once every four years and perhaps getting rusty, you deal with it every year.  The alphabet range is conducive to getting to know families and working with siblings (assuming it is the same last name for siblings, which is usually the case).

The main downside that I see to the alphabet range system is that you are less likely to become familiar with peer groups and teachers. Because you are working with pockets of kids and teachers across different levels,  it is much harder to know the teachers and peers as well. Logistically,  it can be challenging to talk to all of your students in a classroom students. If you stop by a 10th grade English class, only a fraction of the kids will be assigned to you.

Grade Level (Looping)
My school uses a grade level, looping system. In other words, the counselor is assigned a particular grade and moves with that group of students as they proceed through high school. For example, I will be assigned freshmen this year. The following school year I will progress with that group of students to the 10th grade. So on and so forth.  Grade level provides a similar sense of continuity as alphabet range because students have the same counselor all four years. The grade level system has a significant benefit in that it facilitates getting to know peer groups. Generally speaking,  high school kids tend to hang out with grade-level peers. Thus, when they experience conflict and drama in those relationships,  it is incredibly helpful to already be familiar with the peers.  The grade level system also makes it easier for a counselor to focus on grade-level specific initiatives,  whether it be signing up sophomores for the PLAN or coordinating a freshman transition program.

The main con to the grade level system is that it is not an equitable way to divide the work. The senior counselor inevitably gets stuck with a greater workload even if some tweaks are made and other counselors pitch in to help. Another downside to the system is that it does not foster collaboration among grade level counselors. The danger is that counselors can get very wrapped up in their own little grade level world,  missing valuable collaboration opportunities in the process.

Final Analysis

Which system works best will be determined in large part to the enrollment and staff size of your school. I believe the grade level system works best for our school. We have four counselors,  one for each grade level, with a student-to-counselor ratio of about 400 to 1. The primary reason I prefer the grade level system is I believe I am better able to assist students when I know their peers well. It is easier to get to know the students by hanging out in the lunchroom or stopping by a grade level class. With an alphabet range system, it is logistically more challenging to get to know them and their friends. The grade level system can be exhausting,  especially senior year-- I barely survived this past year! In the end, though, I believe the system ultimately benefits our students.

I am fortunate to work with a staff that is willing to bend the rules of the framework. Thus,  if a student is dealing with personal matter or crisis, and wants to talk to a particular counselor who is not their assigned grade level, we always respect the student's wishes.