School Counselors and Principals Serving as Co-Conspirators for Antiracist Program Evaluation

Abstract

Principals and school counselors, as advocates and leaders, have a moral and ethical imperative to interrogate and disrupt the educational inequities pervading P–12 schools. Trained in data collection, disaggregation, and analyses, principals and school counselors must utilize their knowledge and skills in program evaluation to challenge systemic racism, advocate for marginalized students, and collaborate with key stakeholders to dismantle racist policies and practices taking place in classrooms, schools, and broader communities. Program evaluation practices are tools that school counselors and principals can use to bridge social capital by inviting historically marginalized groups of people to have their voices be heard and have a seat at the table where decisions are being made. In this article, we present an Antiracist Program Evaluation Cycle as a framework for school counselor and principal collaboration, with recommendations to disassemble institutional racism that exists within schools and communities.