TPC _Journal-Vol6_Issue_3-MTSS-Full_Issue

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 3 245 (Averill & Rinaldi, 2011). It is important to note that while some states, such as Wisconsin, require a comprehensive MTSS framework, this is not true of all states (Berkeley et al., 2009). Therefore, school counselors’ unease with the use of RTI in support of students with social-emotional concerns is again reflective of a greater debate in the field in regards to the role of RTI or MTSS in supporting all students and informing disability identification. These contradictions point to a need for increased awareness and dialogue about the processes of disability identification within the profession of school counseling. With clear understanding and background knowledge, school counselors will be better prepared to advocate for fair and unbiased methods of disability identification, thereby helping to reduce the disproportionate disability identification of students of color. Contradictions: Changing Responsibilities and Levels of Preparation Two significant gaps were apparent in relation to school counselors’ RTI-related roles and their levels of confidence in regards to these changing responsibilities: School counselors felt underpre- pared to foster collaboration, as well as to use data to inform their practices and make decisions about students. Collaborative practices. Beginning with collaboration, as aligned with Ockerman and colleagues’ (2015) statewide findings, an overwhelming majority of participants reported they are now required to engage more in collaborative practices as a result of RTI implementation. However, many respon- dents did not believe other school professionals viewed RTI as favorable or as a collaborative endeav- or, and over a third of respondents believed there were not building-wide supports for collaborative efforts (e.g., common planning time, teams). Additionally, about half of the respondents reported that they were not adequately prepared for teamwork. Yet, collaboration is at the core of the school counseling profession. Specifically, the ASCA National Model (2012) emphasized the importance of collaboration by including it as one of its four main themes, and several components of the ASCA National Model (e.g., advisory council, annual agreements) are only achievable through collabora- tive relationships. Moreover, the Transformed School Counseling Initiative (TSCI) cited teaming and collaboration as necessary components for a school counselor’s ability to create sustained systemic change (Martin, 2002; Sears, 1999). Thus, school counselors need to find pathways to build commu- nity and create a culture of shared responsibility, not only to benefit students but to be efficient and effective in their jobs. This finding also signals counselor educators to better prepare pre-service school counselors to work in school climates viewed as divisive or individualistic and to cultivate the requisite skill sets to do so. Bolstering communication, facilitation and conflict-resolution skills, school counselors can be trained to help school teams unite around the broader goals of ensuring the academic, emotional and behavioral success of all students. Leveraging these unique skill sets, they can improve the efficacy of RTI teams and ensure they remain integral to the process. Schoolwide data management systems for documentation and decision making . Although scholars within the school counseling profession have emphasized the importance of evidence-based research for over a decade (Dimmitt, Carey & Hatch, 2007; Whiston, 2001, 2002) and the need for school counselor accountability was discussed as early as the 1920s (Gysbers, 2004), school counselors still indicated they felt inadequately prepared to work with data to drive decisions or analyze data in meaningful ways. Similarly, an overwhelming majority of respondents in this survey indicated a lack of preparedness for schoolwide data management and reported not feeling adequately trained to ana- lyze outcome data to determine effectiveness of RTI interventions. Yet, many reported that their roles have changed to involve data collection and data management in support of RTI. This discrepancy points to an urgent need for both pre-service and in-service professional training around the use of