Innovative School Counseling Approaches to Improving College and Career Readiness

School counselors are at the forefront of efforts to improve the college readiness of K-12 students. It is clear that many roadblocks exist with regard to college readiness and adequate access to college counseling. Many public schools serving minority, first-generation, low-income students have school counselors with large caseloads and numerous non-counseling duties leaving them with little time to spend on college counseling (Clinedinst, Koranteng, & Nicola, 2015). This exploratory study aimed to review promising practices that target college and career readiness for students. A deeper investigation was conducted at an urban school serving underrepresented students which revealed an innovative five-year, comprehensive, relationship-driven school counseling model that promotes equity, fosters social and emotional growth, and supports students and families through college readiness, enrollment, and degree attainment leading to a potential new framework for schools to consider.