Analyzing Counselor Usage in Texas Elementary Schools

Research shows establishing communities in schools and providing early intervention clientele, like a counselor, may lead to higher social and emotional learning, and higher collaborative engagement especially at the elementary school level. This study aims to delve more into Texas school elementary communities to create a clearer picture of districts that are supported with counseling staff. Data used was sourced from Texas Education Agency’s - Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) and University of Houston’s College of Education’s - Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education (CREATE). Eight districts were chosen to be looked at in Southeast Texas, one district appearing to be at a 50% deficit in total number of counselors compared to the other seven districts. This district also appeared to have the highest number of elementary students considered ‘At-Risk’. At-Risk defined as students who do not meet state assessment standards, are in a residential placement facility, are homeless, have constant absenteeism or are not English proficient. There were no apparent correlations to a school having a higher at-risk student percentage and a school receiving additional counselor support. In addition, there did appear to be a correlation between increased student at-risk count at a school and decreased time with staffed counselors. More data with a larger sample on a campus and district level would be recommended for further iterations of this research to provide more details on other in-school clientele available or needed.