Social justice in the education of all K‐12 students begins with school counselors; preparing school counselors as advocates and leaders who can implement these principles in U.S. schools begins with counselor educators. Suggestions for intentional preparation of school counselors to be social justice advocates in schools by integrating the principles of the National Center for Transforming School Counseling with the American School Counselor Association National Model for School Counseling Programs (2005) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs 2009 Standards are described. Ideas for educating school counselors as effective advocates in the context of specific training experiences throughout counselor training programs are provided.

Mattering to others has been shown to be a key construct of mental health and wellness. Emerging research links interpersonal mattering and school climate. In this study, the authors use transcendental phenomenology to explore how interpersonal mattering impacts the academic achievement of urban African American males who are academically successful in high school. Implications for the integration of this new information in school counseling are discussed.

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Children who have experienced trauma in relationships, such as direct physical or sexual abuse, or who have witnessed crimes or domestic violence, often carry forward symptoms of traumatic stress. Children with posttraumatic stress may become with

Sunshine Circles is a teacher-led group process using social-relationship principles from Theraplay®. This study, conducted across 6 preschool sites in the midwestern United States, was the first to examine empirical outcomes against a control group for this program. Students in these teacher-led, play-based groups improved significantly compared with controls in social-emotional skills, behavioral regulation, problem-solving, and fine motor control. Specific improvements occurred in domains of managing feelings, cooperation, accepting limits, peer interactions and friendships, and solving social problems. Furthermore, structured teacher observation measurements yielded data indicating improvement in teacher classroom performance. Interviews with teachers confirmed that the intervention subjectively increased classroom cohesion, improved teacher–student relationships, and improved overall classroom behavior. These findings have implications for both classroom best practice and teacher education.