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Home / Counselor Ed / Masters Programs / School

Working as a school counselor can be exciting, challenging, heart-warming, and inspiring. As a counselor working in a school system, you are a change agent and a leader. Counselors work with students, parents, teachers, administrators, pupil personnel workers, other faculty and staff, the community, and the board of education. The work ranges from providing personal, academic, and career counseling to students to advocating for the needs of students on a larger scale (district, state, and national). Counselors are thoughtful about providing support and resources to families and communities, all with the intent of serving the whole student. Successful school counselors are able to learn quickly, adapt to new situations, change tasks easily, see issues on both individual and macro-levels, and understand political systems. They are able to develop and implement programs and are competent in their counseling, consultation, and leadership roles.

Upon graduating, students are eligible for the NYS provisional certification in school counseling. Given that our program is CACREP accredited, our education and training is recognized as appropriate for school counseling certifications and licensure in other states (additional requirements may apply in other states).

Skill Sets Learned

Students who graduate with this degree have learned: about themselves, counseling theories and techniques, group counseling, career counseling, human development across the lifespan, diversity issues, ethics, research and program evaluation, measurement and evaluation, the fundamentals of school counseling, and comprehensive school counseling programs. The learning leads to acquiring the following skills:

Individual and group counseling, prevention, and intervention as it relates to personal, social, academic, and career development
Consultation and teaming
Leadership
Advocacy
Assessment
Action research

Credentialing Organizations

New York State Department of Education: Students who successfully complete the MSEd in School Counseling are eligible for New York State Provisional/ Initial Certification as a School Counselor K-12. Graduates must complete an additional 12 graduate credit hours and work for two full-time years to be eligible for Permanent Certification. The College at Brockport, Department of Counselor Education offers many options for students to complete the 12 graduate credit hours, including: CAS School Counseling- Online/ Hybrid , CAS School Counselor Supervision , College Counseling Bridge Program, and the Mental Health Counseling Bridge Program.

Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor Trainee (CASAC-T): Students who successfully complete the MSEd in School Counseling can also utilize this education towards their application in New York for the CASAC-T credential. The Department of Counselor Education is NY State-certified as an education provider through the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and Nationally certified as an education provider through the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC). Students who graduate with the MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling are eligible to sit for the (NCC) (National Certified Counselor) exam, which is recognized in all 50 states and internationally.

Faculty leadership roles

American Counseling Association: North Atlantic Region

Association of Counselor Education and Supervision: North Atlantic Region

American Counseling Association of New York

New York State School Counseling Association

Western New York School Counseling Consortium

Descriptions of employment opportunities

In challenging economic times, many graduates find local school counseling positions, but some have had to move out of state to find the job of their dreams. Some graduates choose to work in settings other than schools initially rather than moving out of state. Other graduates choose to take temporary school counseling positions that often turn into permanent positions. Experience is always helpful when trying to get the school counseling position in the graduate’s ideal location.

Potential employment and internship sites

Rochester, New York and surrounding areas are rich with urban, rural, and suburban school districts. The Counselor Education Department has cooperative relationships with many of these districts where students conduct internships and many have earned jobs:

Internship/Employment Sites

Rochester City School District

Hilton Central Schools

Pittsford Central Schools

East Irondequoit Central Schools

Webster Central School District

Caledonia-Mumford Central Schools

Rush-Henrietta Central Schools

Greece Central School District

Batavia Central Schools

York Central Schools

Many more

Professional opportunities

Collaboration with other environments

School, Clinical Mental Health, and College Counseling programs participate in collaborations with other departments on campus so that students have the opportunity of having exposure to other professions and work settings. Collaborations include:

Educational Administration, Health Sciences, Criminal Justice, and Social Work; student practica take place in the college’s counseling center

Student memberships and conference presentations

Students are encouraged to participate in professional counseling organizations and to attend professional conferences at special student rates, such as the American Counseling Association and ACA-NY, New York State School Counseling Association (NYSSCA) and its Western New York affiliate, College Student Personnel Association of New York State, and New York Mental Health Counseling Association and its Greater Rochester Chapter.

Student research

Students have presented at national and state conferences with faculty and peers. Publications in peer reviewed counseling journals are made in state and national journals, e.g. NYSSCA, CSPA-NYS, Adultspan, and AMHCA.

Coordinator

Dr. Summer Reiner is the Coordinator of the School Counseling Program

Dr. Reiner has worked as a high school counselor in Prince George’s County, Maryland and Gates Chili School District, New York. She also completed her internships in Williamsville East High School, Williamsville, NY and North Park Junior High School, Lockport, NY. She has extensive experience working with students with: Languages other than English, disabilities, and gifted and talented students. She has experience working in school districts with extreme poverty and affluence. Dr. Reiner has also assisted in the development of five comprehensive school counseling programs across Monroe County. Her experiences inform her teaching, as does her knowledge of cutting-edge issues that she learns about in her work as a leader in the field. Dr. Reiner is currently the Co-Editor of the New York State School Counseling Journal, President of NARACES, Chair elect of the American Counseling Association North Atlantic Region, Past President of ACA-NY, Past ACA Ethics Appeal Committee Chair, and co-committee chair of the Western New York School Counseling Consortium. She is also a 21^st Century Parenting Committee Member for Churchville Chili School District. She is a member of the American Counseling Association, Association for Counselor Educators and Supervisors, Association for Adult Development and Aging, North Atlantic Region Association for Counselor Educators and Supervisors, American Counseling Association of New York, and New York State School Counseling Association.

Select publications:

Houseknecht, S., Sculli, N., King, N., Beringer, A., Reiner, S. M., & Dobmeier, R. A. (2011). Parent, Teacher, and School Administrator Views of the Role of School Counselor in Elementary Education: A Survey in a Suburban School District. New York State School Counselor Association, 8, 23-31.

Reiner, S. M., Colbert, R. D., & Pérusse, R. (2009). Teacher perceptions of school counselors: A national study. Professional School Counselor, 5, 325-331.

Colbert, R., Pérusse, R. Reiner, S. M., Twomey, J.; & Lucky, J. (2007). A school- university partnership: Key for developing and implementing a school-wide data-driven guidance curriculum. New York State School Counselor Association, 4, 13-20.