The requisite of every learner, a benevolent advocate, an exponent, an empathetic ear! Who is that? “A counselor”.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Openings for K-12 school and career counselors are projected to grow by 11% from 2016 to 2026, creating 33,000 new jobs.

What Is An Online School Counselor?: An Insight Into Counseling

Let us first define the most important terminology over here that is, “Counselor” before diving into the exploration of counseling and its characteristics. A student counselor is a certified and trained professional who provides academic guidance, socio-emotional support, career guidance, college readiness, consultations, and program coordination to all students. An educational counselor usually have a degree in psychology or its related fields. Apart from that he or she is equipped with skills, knowledge, and expertise which are implemented for the holistic development of a child.

A student counselor not only provides academic counseling or guidance but also helps students identify their caliber, capacities, and interests. The student counselor aids in achieving their learning outcomes. This way an educational counselor helps to prevent dropouts, mental health issues, and other concerns surrounding a School-age child. Thus, a counselor is an important figure in any school!

Likewise, an educational counselor who works in a virtual setting or environment and provides socio-emotional or academic counseling sessions to students sitting at a remote location via a digital medium is known as an online school counselor. Being an online school counselor, he or she adheres to the same standard as in traditional or physical school. There is not a thin sheet of difference between online and in-person counseling, but the absolute fact is that an online counseling is much more effective as compared to the other ways, you will get to know that as soon as you opt for it. Try Once! A homeschool counselor has the same degree, skills, knowledge, and expertise as a conventional school counselor. 

All in all, you can say that a counselor is someone who removes barriers to academic achievement!

Source: People For Education

There can be a variety of reasons for which students enroll themselves in virtual school. For instance, if:

• Unable to attend physical school due to medical conditions; or
• The student experience awful school experiences like bullying, harassment, trolling, peer pressure and what not!; or 
• Someone needs more personalized support and instructional assistance to make learning more easy and adaptable; or
• The learner requires a more robust curriculum to adopt accelerated, self-paced, or special learner learning methods; or
• An athlete student who needs to balance the academics while giving 100% to his or her extracurriculars or sport;
• Wants to opt for extra courses other than physical schooling to expand the knowledge and skillset;
• Needs to study in smaller size classes and in digital interactive environment ;
• Who needs to travel frequently with parents; and etc.

Thus, any student can face some kind of issues or trouble which needs to be sorted out at the earliest. That’s where online school counselors come into the picture!

A very important segment to understand here is that even if the school counselor works within the in-person setting or physical school, he or she also needs to take the aid of technology and implement virtual, or distance counseling to deliver remote sessions. This way, a counselor gets to connect with parents who cannot meet in person or during remote learning times, and various other reasons. It has become a necessary practice to incorporate technological strategies to deliver counseling duties more efficiently. So, now you understand how important an online mode for socio-emotional, career, and academic counseling is and how vital a virtual setting has become in this digital era!

What Do School Counselors Do?: Key Responsibilities Of A Counselor

Here are some key duties mentioned that a homeschool counselor performs:

• Curate programs or tasks to educate students about negative concepts like bullying, harassment, mental health, abuse, etc. which can lead to harmful effects.

• Help students to establish their academic goals and path to achieve those.

• Educate students about social and behavioral skills.

• Support students with dealing with exam fear, peer pressure, and other sort of anxieties.

• Meet students to discuss recent incidents and their well-being.

• Responding to calls of teachers, parents, and guardians who seek help regarding the student.

• Communicate with teachers, parents, and administrative personnel to devise a course of action to help student’s behavioral issues.

• Assist newly enrolled students by acting as a point of communication and making them comfortable in the school environment.

• Implement awards like Student of the Month to students who display positive traits like kindness, empathy, respect, courage, environmental consciousness, etc. This way students’ morale is boosted and he or she carries these traits lifelong. 

• Connect with parents regularly to notify them of their child’s behavior, achievement, academic reports, recurring incidents, or any other helpful details. Provide parental tips to help them in the upbringing of their child.

• Collaborate with teachers to determine the student’s progress.

• Provide extra assistance to high school student with their career choices and college readiness.

• Maintain confidentiality and mitigate the limitation of unintended happenings in virtual settings during online counseling sessions.

• Educate and guide students and parents to participate in online school counseling sessions to curb the potential for misunderstanding in any verbal or visual cues and inability to read body language.

• Observe and recognize the unusual behavior or tell-tale signs exhibited by the student in a virtual setting. Assist the student who is not in the right state of mind and considering suicide, try to find his physical location while keeping him engaged in conversation, and reach out to parents, guardians, helpline, or nearby cop station for immediate rescue.

How To Become A Virtual School Counselor: The Pathway To Counseling

There are ample amount of ways by which one can become an online school counselor. One can earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology, behavioral sciences, social sciences, or education field. To be an educational counselor, you must earn a good school counselor degree! Following that you can achieve a master’s degree in school counseling. Along with these, you can apply for internships to acquire more dexterity. 

After that pass any entrance exams for certifications or licensure. Apart from all these, you can enroll yourself in professional development classes. This will refresh your industry knowledge. Gain some good experience and stay updated with recent trends to be efficient. It’s very important to brush up your knowledge and skills in any field so that you never get out of touch. The more you will expand your skill set, the more employable you become! What’s more necessary is that it should be your passion to serve school-age children in their educational voyage.

Conclusion

Conclusively, a counselor acts as a guiding light for students in steering the pathway to their academic success. As discussed above, there is no difference between virtual and in-person counseling sessions, you will see the moment you experience it and find its plentifuller benefits. To be an efficient counselor one must upgrade their knowledge database every time and be passionate about serving the students. 

FAQs

• What is a school counselor?
  A school counselor or homeschool guidance counselor or educational counselor is someone who is trained and has expertise in this field. He or she provides support and guidance to every student in the school in academic, social, and emotional aspects.
• What are the essential requirements to be an educational counselor?
  To be an educational counselor, one needs to have a school counselor degree in psychology, behavioral sciences, child psychology, etc. It’s a must! Moreover, appropriate licenses or certifications are also required.
• Does International Schooling provide counseling?
  Yes, International Schooling is an online school that provides regular counseling sessions and homeschool guidance counselors to its students and parental tips to their parents. To know more, kindly visit: www.internationalschooling.org.

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