Emily Anne Espinosa |Staff Writer|

Nine professional counseling and college readiness organizations have joined together to form the Council of National School Counseling and College Access Organizations in order to promote college and career readiness.
According to the American Counseling Association, the ratio between students and counselors have widened and become more disproportionate, due to an increase of students and a lack of sufficient resources for counseling professionals (such as state budget cuts).
In order to keep students more focused on post-high school education and career options, this council will provide more resources and opportunities for high school students, in preparing them for career options post-high school graduation.
The nine organizations who founded the council are the American Counseling Association (ACA), ACT, American School Counselor Association (ASCA), College Advising Corps (CAC), The College Board, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), National College Access Network (NCAN), and The Southern Regional Education Board’s Go Alliance (SREB).
“As social inequality has increased, the student:counselor ratio has also increased. Today, the national average is nearly 500 students per school counselor, and in many California schools there may be more than 1,000 students per school counselor,” said Jim Larimore, ACT Chief Officer for the Advancement of Underserved Learners.
In the council’s statement of purpose, all member organizations “believe in the right of every student to have access to counseling and advisement for post-secondary (career and college) preparation, access and success.”
“At ACT, we believe that every student and every family should have access to the information they need to be prepared for success in college and career, and we see the Reach Higher initiative as an important Nine professional counseling and college readiness organizations have joined together to form the Council of National School Counseling and College Access Organizations in order to promote college and career readiness.
According to the American Counseling Association, the ratio between students and counselors have widened and become more disproportionate, due to an increase of students and a lack of sufficient resources for counseling professionals (such as state budget cuts).
In order to keep students more focused on post-high school education and career options, this council will provide more resources and opportunities for high school students, in preparing them for career options post-high school graduation.
The nine organizations who founded the council are the American Counseling Association (ACA), ACT, American School Counselor Association (ASCA), College Advising Corps (CAC), The College Board, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), National College Access Network (NCAN), and The Southern Regional Education Board’s Go Alliance (SREB).
“As social inequality has increased, the student:counselor ratio has also increased. Today, the national average is nearly 500 students per school counselor, and in many California schools there may be more than 1,000 students per school counselor,” said Jim Larimore, ACT Chief Officer for the Advancement of Underserved Learners.
In the council’s statement of purpose, all member organizations “believe in the right of every student to have access to counseling and advisement for post-secondary (career and college) preparation, access and success.”
“At ACT, we believe that every student and every family should have access to the information they need to be prepared for success in college and career, and we see the Reach Higher initiative as an important way to raise awareness, work toward more equitable access to information, and support the dedicated educators and mentors who are working directly with students,” continued Larimore.
The council was created in response to the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative, where Obama launched the idea at the second White House Convening at San Diego State University in November 2014.
The Reach Higher Initiative seeks to motivate students to continue education beyond high school, such as attending a four-year university or college, community college, or completing a professional training program.
“Having these nine organizations come together will make a powerful difference in realizing the promise of the Reach Higher Initiative to support all students in the United States in taking charge of their futures,” said Eric Waldo, executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative.
The council will function independently from Obama, but operate with full support from the Reach Higher Initiative.
The council is currently in the process of “creating a webpage which will provide information in one place about resources for college and career readiness and the pre and in-service opportunities available to train counselors and college access personnel to be better prepared to provide these services,” said Lynn Linde, Senior Director of Center for Counseling Practice, Policy and Research at the ACA.