Coaching College Counselors and Advisors
Key Coaching Questions for Administrators to Start the Year Strong
At Contigo Ed, aligned with the American School Counselor Association, we strongly believe that school counselors must “collaborate with families / teachers / administrators /community for student success”. That is precisely why we want you, as a school practitioner, coach and/or administrator, to be equipped with great questions to facilitate learning and development with your school counselors. Even if your background and experience is not in school counseling, you bring a wealth of knowledge and skill that is required for these collaborative efforts to be successful and impactful for students and families.
Here are some suggested topics and questions to explore with new counselors and your counseling department as you launch into the school year. Take a look at all (there are over 50!) of our targeted questions in our free Coaching Guide to keep the coaching conversations going.
After each question, consider asking these to dive deeper:
How is this program / policy / practice benefiting students and families?
Is this leading to more equitable outcomes?
How has it evolved over time?
Is this something we want to keep doing, modify or stop doing all together?
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What do students typically do once they graduate from our school? Write down all of the most popular postsecondary pathways for students from our campus.
Where do we capture this data? Who do we capture this data from? How often do we capture it?
How can school counselors look up matriculation and enrollment data for former students from your campus?
What current programs or institutions are popular with current or former students?
• 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities • Military branches or other service opportunities • Vocational or trade programs • Apprenticeship • Job training programs • Gap Year programs
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What terms do we currently use to categorize college match schools? (i.e. reach, target, solid/safety/secure)
When determining our college match categories, are there any other factors other than a student’s GPA and test scores that we want to consider?
In the case of test optional admissions, how does our high school campus determine whether or not to send college entrance exam scores along with a college application?
What is our district / campus policy of ranking students? How might this policy impact admissions?
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What are all of the preferences students might have when selecting colleges for their college application wishlist?
What current programs or institutions are particularly popular with our current or former students?
What current aspects of college affordability are important for our current or former students and their families?
What opportunities are available on or through our campus programming that allow for students to explore or experience different types of institutions and their academic and co-curricular offerings?
College Match or College Fit first?
In your opinion, do you, as a school practitioner, want to talk with students about college match or college fit first?
What might be some of the benefits of talking about match first? Some of the drawbacks? Does a student’s grade level matter at all?
What might be some of the benefits of talking about fit first? Some of the drawbacks? Does a student’s grade level matter at all?
