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##  Leading and Managing Comprehensive School Guidance Programs.                    ERIC/CASS Digest.                                                            

INTRODUCTION
"As soon as the first teachers were given part-time               assignments as school counselors in the early 1900s, discussion                 began about what should be the nature, structure, position, and                 leadership of guidance. What should be the focus of guidance? How               should guidance be organized and where should it be placed                      organizationally in a building/district? Who should lead and manage             the program? What titles would best identify guidance program                   leaders? How should supervision be provided to school counselors and            other program staff? How should school counselors and other program             staff be evaluated and helped to improve their                                  performance?" (Henderson & Gysbers, 1998 p. 3). 
The questions that            were asked about the nature, structure, position, and leadership of             guidance in the early 1900s are still being asked today, almost 100             years later. However, given the evolution of guidance over the years            from a position, to a set of services, to a program (Gysbers &                  Henderson, 2000), we are now able to more clearly answer these                  questions. The program concept for guidance provides us with an                 overall framework, an organizational system that specifies building             and district level guidance program leadership roles. As a result               this digest first focuses on the fundamental beliefs and the                    organizational structure of comprehensive guidance programs. Then               attention is given to guidance program leader roles, titles, and                functions that we feel are necessary to lead and manage                         comprehensive school guidance programs. FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS AND               ORGANIZATIONAL STURCTUREA comprehensive school guidance program,            in close collaboration with parents, serves all students                        pre-kindergarten through grade twelve. It helps all students gain               competencies in the areas of personal/social, educational, and                  career development at all educational levels, competencies that                 underpin students' academic success. It serves equally all students,            parents, teachers, and other recipients regardless of gender, race,             ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, disability,                 family structure and functionality, socioeconomic status, learning              ability level, language, level of school involvement, or other                  special characteristics. 
A comprehensive school guidance program              guarantees that all students have access to school counselors and               school counselors have access to all students. It helps develop and             protect students' individuality and provides them with skills to                function effectively with others in school, home, and community. It             is developmental and preventative as well as remedial in design and             implementation and is continuously refined and enhanced through                 systematic planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating. 
A               comprehensive school guidance program features a content element                consisting of student competencies. There is an organizational                  framework element that contains three structural                                components (definition, rationale, assumptions), four program                   components (guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive                services, system support), and time allocations for the work of                 school counselors. Finally, there is a resources element that                   includes the human, financial, and political resources required to              develop and operate the program effectively and efficiently. 
A                comprehensive school guidance program mandates that school                      counselors spend 100 percent of their time working in the program               with non-guidance duties eliminated. It is put into operation                   through a five-stage change process of planning, designing,                     implementing, evaluating, and enhancing. It is evaluated through                program, personnel, and results evaluation. LEADERSHIP ROLES 
A                comprehensive school guidance program is implemented through a team             approach that uses all staff members in roles appropriate to their              training and competence. It provides for the professional                       development of school counselors and other guidance program staff to            ensure their competence to fully carry out their leadership as well             as their implementation roles. It requires strong district and                  building leadership for program development, implementation, and                advocacy and for school counselor and other guidance program staff              professional development. District and building guidance program                leaders fulfill four roles: administration, supervision, management,            and professional leadership (Henderson & Gysbers,                               1998). 
Administration 
In the administrative role, guidance                  program staff leaders have primary responsibility for and authority             over the program and the staff. They establish systems for                      accountability of staff members, help them organize and implement               the program, and evaluate the program's effectiveness and the                   quality of staff members' performance. Not only do they ensure the              implementation of the designed program, but they also ensure its                appropriateness within the context of the school building and                   district. 
Supervision 
In the supervision role, guidance program             staff leaders assist their staff members to continuously learn new              ways to improve their job performance, that is, their professional              skills, the currency of their knowledge and information, and their              work habits. Meaningful supervision is the result of firsthand                  observation and directly communicated feedback. It involves helping             staff members increase their competence in carrying out their jobs              in the guidance program by conducting supervision as outlined in a              district's performance improvement system. It is carried out in ways            that are comparable with supervision provided by other department               leaders for the members of their professional                                   staffs. 
Management 
In the management role, guidance program                 staff leaders ensure the efficient use of the resources appropriated            to the program. These resources include information provided through            the administrative and other staff channels; materials, equipment,              and budget appropriated to the department; and the talent and time              of staff members. It includes governing and controlling other staff             members to ensure that department goals and objectives are                      accomplished. In this role, guidance program leaders ensure the                 maintenance of the program and at least the minimum functioning of              each staff member. They are the conduit for the school district, the            school building, and the department. 
Professional Leadership 
In             the leadership role, guidance program staff leaders influence the               behaviors of their staff members in such ways that enhance not only             their competence but also their commitment to the program, to the               school, and to their profession. As leaders in the profession, they             conduct as well as apply the outcomes of research in school                     counseling, education, and school counseling supervision. LEADERSHIP            TITLES 
Titles continue to vary in educational administrative                  structures. The definitive organizational pattern has yet to be                 found. Titles reflecting responsibilities vary from school district             to school district. What is clear, however, is that whether they are            in school district offices or in school buildings, guidance program             staff leaders should have titles that reflect their administrative,             management, supervisory, and professional leadership                            responsibilities and fit their placement in the organizational                  structure of the school system. Individuals with direct                         responsibility for the guidance program and direct contact with the             school counseling staff should have guidance, counseling, or both in            their titles (e.g., Assistant Superintendent for Guidance, Director             of Guidance, Counselor Supervisor, Guidance Department Head, or Head            Counselor). LEADERSHIP FUNCTIONSThere are six major leadership            functions for district and building level guidance leaders to carry             out in fulfilling their leadership roles. These functions are: (a)              empowering school counselors to carry out program roles and                     responsibilities; (b) advocating for the guidance program and                   staff; (c) defining school counselors' jobs within the guidance                 program and, thereby, promoting maximum use of their                            competencies; (d) promoting professionalism of school                           counselors; (e) supervising; and (f) evaluating school counselors'              performance. These strategies are applied by building and district              guidance program staff leaders as defined by job descriptions based             on appropriate application of their power bases, roles and                      competencies in the contexts of comprehensive guidance programs,                school counselor performance improvement systems, and school                    buildings and districts. SUMMARY AND CLOSING THOUGHTSThis                 digest focused on a topic of great concern to the profession, the               topic of strong and appropriate district and building level                     leadership for comprehensive guidance programs in schools. It is a              topic that the profession has wrestled with for almost 100 years. It            is one that must be resolved if school counselors, working full-time            within the framework and organizational structure of comprehensive              guidance programs, are to reach and serve all students and their                parents. 
When guidance in the schools is conceptualized and                   implemented as a program, with the appropriate district and building            level guidance leadership, it places guidance conceptually and                  structurally in the center of education and educational reform. It              becomes an integral and trans-formative program, not a marginal and             supplemental activity. When this occurs, school counselors can                  devote full time serving students and their parents, emphasizing                students' academic success and their personal/social and career                 development. REFERENCESGysbers, N.C. & Henderson, P. (2000).              Developing and managing your school guidance program. Alexandria,               VA: American Counseling Association. 
Gysbers, N.C., & Henderson,              P. (Eds.) (1997). Comprehensive Guidance Programs That Work-II.                 Greensboro, NC: ERIC Counseling and Student Services                            Clearinghouse. 
Henderson, P., & Gysbers, N.C. (1998).  Leading &              managing your school guidance program staff. Alexandria, VA:                    American Counseling Association. 
Henderson, P., & Gysbers,                    N.C. (Eds.)(2002).  Implementing Comprehensive Guidance Programs:               Critical Issues and Successful Responses. Greensboro, NC: ERIC                  Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse. 
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ERIC                   Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and               disseminated. This publication was funded by the U.S. Department of             Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Contract             No. ED-99-CO-0014. Opinions expressed in this report do not                     necessarily reflect the positions of the U.S. Department of                     Education, OERI, or ERIC/CASS.                                               **Title:** Leading and Managing Comprehensive School Guidance Programs.                    ERIC/CASS Digest.                                                            **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse, University of               North Carolina at Greensboro, 201 Ferguson Building, P.O. Box 26171,            Greensboro, NC 27402-6171. Tel: 336-334-4114; Tel:                              800-414-9769 (Toll Free); Fax: 336-334-4116; e-mail:                            [email protected]; Web site: http://ericcass.uncg.edu.                       **Descriptors:**  Comprehensive Programs, Cooperation,  Educational Objectives,                  Elementary Secondary Education, Guidance Objectives,  Guidance                  Programs, Leadership Responsibility,  School Counseling                      **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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