Black Lives Are Beautiful: Training School Counselors to Foster Positive Racial Identity and Academic Success Among Black K-12 Students

Abstract

Positive racial identity development has a significant impact on the academic achievement of Black children. Accordingly, to promote the success of these children in K-12 school settings, school counselors should utilize interventions that foster positive racial identity and challenge negative, anti-Black messages received from the environment. This article reports findings from a training designed to teach interventions school counselors may implement to support positive racial identity and improve outcomes among Black students. Results from a pre/post-test evaluation of the workshop showed that participants generally had positive perceptions of the training and experienced learning on the program objectives. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Plain language summary

A training for school counselors to support black racial identity development among K-12 students

Black students’ academic success is closely tied to how positively they view their racial identity. However, many school counselors feel unsure about how to support racial identity development in their students. This study describes a 2-hour virtual training designed to teach school counselors practical strategies to help Black students build a healthy racial identity, cope with racism, and feel empowered in school settings. The training drew from the book Black Lives Are Beautiful and focused on five key areas: healing from racial trauma, self-esteem, resilience, empowerment, and community. Counselors learned about racial identity models and interventions that can be used in one-on-one counseling, small groups, or broader school programing. Twenty-four participants completed pre- and post-training surveys to measure changes in their knowledge and confidence. Results showed that after the training, counselors felt more prepared to use racial identity interventions and better understood the connection between racial identity and academic success. The greatest improvement was seen in participants’ ability to identify ways to help students challenge internalized racism and build resilience. Counselors also valued the interactive format, which allowed for real-time questions and discussion. While the study had a small sample size and relied on self-reported data, the findings suggest that short, focused professional development can boost school counselors’ readiness to support the racial identity development of Black students. Future research could explore how these strategies work in different types of schools, involve a more diverse group of counselors, and examine long-term impacts on student outcomes. Overall, this training model offers a promising step toward more culturally responsive school counseling that affirms and uplifts Black youth.