In the era of high-stakes testing, accountability is a necessity. As a School Counselor without a classroom schedule, it may appear to other school professionals and/or administrators that we have lots of "free" time. There are days where I do have an hour of time that is not set aside for lessons, small groups, meetings, consulting with teachers, calling parents, etc. However, most of the time, that hour ends up being used by individual student requests, handling emergencies, assisting with school-wide programs and/or checking-in on students. In fact, there are lots of days that I do not even take a planning period due to other circumstances.
So my question is, how do you turn your schedule into an administrator with that "free" time posted knowing that in reality, that will not end up being the case? My fear is that I'll turn in my schedule and be assigned to other duties during that time which will hamper my ability to do my job effectively. What are your thoughts? Is a conversation with my administrator good enough or should I put in something that I "anticipate" will take up my time during that slot?
