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Connecticut School Counselors
Historically known as the “land on the long tidal river,” Connecticut is a state flowing with new and innovative ideas in education. Home to a consistently high concentration of school and career counselors, Connecticut leads the way for excellence in school guidance counseling.
With the belief that all children deserve the best educational opportunities, the Connecticut State Board of Education is dedicated to ensuring academic achievement, college/career readiness, and personal/social development for all students within their system of schools.
The Connecticut State Board of Education identifies school counselors as master’s educated professional educators who have a “whole-child perspective” and are uniquely qualified to understand, prevent, and respond to the contemporary challenges faced by today’s students.
- Top Picks
Featured Universities with School Counseling Programs
#1
Walden University
MS in School Counseling - General Program. Click here to contact Walden University and request information about their programs.
#2
Grand Canyon University
M. Ed in School Counseling (leads to initial Licensure) Click here to contact Grand Canyon University and request information about their programs.
#3
New York University (NYU)
NYU Steinhardt's accredited master of arts program in Counseling and Guidance: School and Bilingual School Counseling. Through this online program, you will gain the skills you need to become a professional Pre-K-12 school counselor, working with children and families in your community to foster academic achievement and success. Click here to contact New York University and request information about their programs.
#4
University of Denver
Earn a Master's degree in School Counseling online from the University of Denver. Learn from doctoral-level faculty in live classes and gain experience through mock counseling and in-field training. No GRE required. Click here to contact University of Denver and request information about their programs.
How Counselors at One Connecticut School Are Cutting Chronic Absenteeism
The schools may be different, but the story is usually the same. Since the COVID pandemic (and the disruptions in schooling that resulted), schools across the nation have dealt with rising numbers of chronic absenteeism.
In the past, schools dealt with chronic absenteeism with punishments—detention, suspension, even legal action against the parents. But at Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy (part of the Norwalk Public Schools), they’ve come up with alternative strategies that are proving to be highly effective.
After identifying students who are, or at risk of being, chronically absent, counselors at this Connecticut school develop unique, personalized strategies that are focused on the root causes of absenteeism, not on punishments. Connecticut identifies chronic absenteeism as more than nine excused or unexcused absences in one school year.
By crafting individualized strategies aimed at building connections with students and their families, school counselors have managed to reduce the chronic absenteeism rate from 32 percent in the 2021-22 school year to just 10 percent in the 2022-23 school year.
Here’s how they did it.
First, the district began collecting more accurate data, so they could get a clearer picture of reported absences. Instead of calling home for each absence, they began sending emails, thereby creating a paper trail that was easier to track.
Then, an attendance team of school counselors turned their attention to those students who were at risk of being chronically absent and began reaching out to families through phone calls, emails, and written letters.
This personal contact with the families of the students allowed them to ask questions and determine if there were ways they could accommodate their needs to help with school attendance issues. And in some cases, school counselors would even visit the home, bringing a school resource officer with them in an attempt to persuade parents to help them get their children to school.
And it worked… and still continues to work, providing a model that other schools can implement to experience similar results.
To be clear, their approach is anything but confrontational; instead, it’s about establishing relationships, building connections, and offering support. For example, in one instance, it allowed school counselors to recognize that a child was experiencing anxiety about attending school. As a result, they were able to help the family connect with mental health resources and provide both in-school and out-of-school counseling and additional support from teachers and staff.
What do Connecticut school counselors do?
One of the big misconceptions of school counseling is that guidance counselors are available only for student evaluation and college direction. This couldn’t be further from the truth. School counselors have the noble responsibility of identifying each student’s strengths and talents and helping them move toward their educational and career goals. Not only do they guide students along higher education/career journey, they address social and behavioral issues that might prevent a student from succeeding.
The Connecticut Counselor Board requires prospective school counselors to complete at least 36 clock hours of special education study that includes special-needs children and how to integrate them into the regular classroom.
Along with special education study, Connecticut school counselors:
- Incorporate national counseling principles and a general philosophy of counseling for students of all standing.
- Have a complete understanding of the psychological and sociological differences related to child behavior and are able to act accordingly.
- Offer career development practices and skill-building classes.
- Provide individual and group counseling services for students, faculty, and parents.
- Administer pupil appraisals and evaluations, with the goal of guiding the student both compassionately and professionally.
- Offer school-based consultations and interventions
Why should someone consider becoming a school counselor in Connecticut?
Job Market Trends
Connecticut School Counselor Salary (median) 1
$70,400/year
Number of School Counselors Employed 1
3,670
Projected employment growth in Connecticut 2
9.3% from 2022-2032
Making a lasting difference in young people’s lives is one big reason to consider becoming a school counselor in the beautiful state of Connecticut. All students, regardless of age, gender, socio-economic status, race, or disability, deserve the best educational guidance to ensure they become productive members of society.
Here are a few great reasons to further consider becoming a school counselor in Connecticut:
- Connecticut school counselors are trained to consider the social, behavioral, and educational needs of every student.
- Guidance counselors in Connecticut work from a comprehensive, developmental, and systematic school-counseling framework, which offers substantial support and incentive.
Connecticut cannot be overlooked in its leadership of supportive school counseling services. They’ve worked hard to attain a high concentration of educational and career counselors and will continue to work hard to grow their programs in the future. As the need for more student guidance grows, other states can look to Connecticut as a strong and valuable example moving forward. This “land on the long tidal river” continues to flow steadily toward a bright future in its school counseling initiative.
1.) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics job market and salary figures for Educational, Guidance and Career Counselors and Advisors represents state data not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed May 2025.
2.) School Counselor projections data retrieved from Projections Central, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Data accessed May 2025.