They can anticipate problems and they can pick up the rhythm of the school. They can sense the changes in student behavior. Counseling positions often are the first to go when money gets tight. Once a staple of California schools, like nurses and librarians, counselors are spread thin. If they can be kept out of those positions, then they can be seen by students as a neutral party they can trust.
Students can go a year without seeing their counselor, say some in the profession.
Sometimes contact with students may be limited to graduation requirements and college plans. And because counselors are optional in California, some say they are seen as a frill. Twenty-nine percent of California's school districts, or 286 districts, operate without them. When it comes to student-counselor ratios, California ranks last in the nation. The American School Counselor Association recommends that counselors should have no more than 250 students.