“I stayed just above the cusp so I was left alone”: Black Girls’ Experiences with School Counselors

The school counselor has a unique role to maximize student success. Although the role of a school counselor has transformed into a defined position to support the success of all students, few studies have explored how contemporary school counselors support Black girls during high school. The current qualitative study centers the experiential knowledge of Black girls to highlight Black girls’ perceptions of and experiences with professional school counselors to better equip educational professionals with the knowledge required to support Black girls. We find that most Black girls report few interactions with school counselors and little support. In turn, they must cultivate their own resources. The findings support the need to explore more intentional and systemic school counseling activities that meet the academic, socioemotional, and career development needs of Black girls.