Achievement in Urban Schools: Linking Schools, Families, and Communities

Introduction

Urban education is a method of schooling that takes place in large, densely populated areas with diverse students. One out of four American children attends school in an urban setting, and in urban schools, where students are twice as likely to suffer from poverty (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). With that being said, students in urban school settings encounter unique challenges (e.g., family concerns, limited access to healthcare, crime/violence) that impact their educational experience (Holcomb-McCoy & Gonzalez, 2016). School counselors, in turn, play an important role in an urban school setting because they are called upon by their profession to be advocates, leaders, collaborators, and consultants who create systemic change that promotes equitable educational access and student success (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2019).

Our purpose is to explain ways in which school counselors in urban settings can work with schools, families, and communities to enhance achievement. We give readers an overview of urban education, the role of schools, families, and communities in urban school settings, and finally offer implications for school counselors and counselor educators. Linking schools, families, and communities are important roles for school counselors (ASCA, 2016a). This information is particularly important to counselor educators because it is with their guidance and support that school counselors learn to form, lead, facilitate, and evaluate these partnerships and work to remove barriers that impede these helpful collaborative relationships (ASCA, 2016d). Counselor educators also ensure school counselors who will work in urban school settings are equipped to establish and maintain a program that addresses students’ academic achievement, career planning, and social/emotional development (ASCA, 2019). Adequate training can yield more academic successes for students and foster healthy relationships with their families and communities. Another reason why the information in this chapter is so vital is that school counselors are held responsible for demonstrating school counselor competencies across school setting types, including urban school districts (Hannon, 2016). With students coming from diverse backgrounds, school counselors are charged with developing comprehensive school counseling programs to address the myriad of needs students have when they come to school.