Welcome to the California Association of School Counselors Website!

	Are School Counselors a Cost-Effective Education Input? In a recently released research paper by Scott E. Carroll of UC Davis and Mark Hoekstra of the University of Pittsburgh, the question is asked "Are school counselors a cost-effective education input?" Their paper "...examines the effectiveness of school counselors on academic achievement. [Their] findings indicate that school counselors cause an economically and statistically significant increase in achievement. Point estimates indicate that one additional school counselor reduces student misbehavior by 16 percent and increases student achievement by 1.1 percentile points..." read more

	In The News... In pre-recess action, the U.S. Senate appropriations panel has voted to increase funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP) by $2 million for Fiscal Year 2011, raising the federal program expenditure to $57 million. This would be the program's highest funding level---ever. That's the good news. The bad news is that many in Congress are trying to eliminate ESSCP programs, as proposed by the administration, to help pay for other priorities. And those lawmakers may be successful---unless school counselors and school counseling advocates seize this opportunity to build on the Senate panel's momentum. Visit http://capwiz.com/counseling/home to tell your two Senators and Representative to increase funding for the school counseling program. The August and September recess period will put these elected officials back in their home districts and states. When the opportunity affords itself, approach them and members of their staffs personally with your support message.