School Counseling to Close the Achievement Gap: A Social Justice Framework for Success [Hardcover]

"The author is way ahead of the game on this one. This book is sorely needed in schools today. I would recommend purchasing it for counselor inservice programs, and I would use it in my graduate counselor education classes." (Sharon K. Johnson, Coeditor 20061214)

"A groundbreaking book for school counselors and school counselor educators. The author encourages the use of a social justice lens to help school counselors and school counseling programs close the achievement gap. Great examples, practical suggestions, and powerful theory." (Stuart F. Chen-Hayes, Associate Professor of Counselor Education 20061214)

"This book will fulfill a major void in the school counseling literature." (James L. Moore III, Associate Professor of Counselor Education 20061214)

"I would recommend this publication to every education student, school counselor, and urban educator." (Jennifer White-Peters, School Counselor 20061214)

"Tackles a major educational problem head on and takes a thematic perspective that is relevant to most school counselors' daily lives." (Christopher Sink , Editor 20071012)

"An item of choice for both college-level education collections and practicing school counselors. From small-group activities for students to individual issues, this book provides a winning set of examples and strategies." (The Bookwatch, September 2007 20080715)

"The book is grounded in the author's real-world experiences and frustration with schools that fail to help students achieve. Holcomb-McCoy's passion and her goal to help school counselors understand equity and social justice are to be applauded." (PsycCRITIQUES, June 2008, Vol. 53(26) )

School counsellors can play a powerful role in closing the achievement gap by incorporating principles of social justice - that is, equity and advocacy for all students - into their practice. This new resource for pre-service and in-service counsellors addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter academic failure (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism), and challenges readers to play an active role in bringing about the conditions for student success. Offering a variety of vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions, the book provides the framework for how school counsellors can mitigate the impact of negative factors hampering academic performance and healthy development. The book details six functions of a school counsellors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement. (20061214)

Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy received her Ph.D. in counseling and educational development from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her areas of research specialization include multicultural school counseling, school counselor multicultural self-efficacy, and urban school counselor preparation. She has written numerous book chapters and refereed articles on issues pertaining to diversity in school counselor education. Dr. Holcomb-McCoy is a former elementary school counselor and kindergarten teacher.

In 2000, Dr. Holcomb-McCoy was elected National Secretary of Chi Sigma Iota International and was the recipient of the Chi Sigma Iota Outstanding Research Award in 1998. She was named Maryland Counselor Educator of the Year in 2001 and was awarded the Alumni Excellence Award from UNCG’s Department of Counseling and Educational Development in 2002. Dr. Holcomb-McCoy has served on the editorial boards of the Professional School Counseling journal, Journal of Counseling and Development, and the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. She is currently serving as the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Diversity Professional Network Chairperson and is a consultant for the College Board’s National Office of School Counselor Advocacy. She resides with her husband and two children in Potomac, Maryland.