By Rachel Sincore, NACAC Communications

ARLINGTON, VA, Oct. 6 — The knowledge needed to guide students in their journeys from secondary to postsecondary education is vast and requires constant professional development. For school counselors at Title I schools, where funding is most limited, access to that professional development can be hard to come by.

That’s why in 2027, NACAC is offering free organizational memberships to qualifying school counselors at Title I schools. This is a one-year opportunity made possible by generous philanthropic support from a donor.

“Talent and potential are everywhere, but access to opportunity is not,” said NACAC CEO Angel B. Pérez. “School counselors are the people who help close that gap. We want counselors serving our nation’s most under-resourced schools to have access to the professional community, knowledge, and tools they need to help every student imagine and pursue a meaningful future.”

An organizational membership can support up to eight counseling professionals per school. NACAC expects to award 275 organizational memberships, supporting more than 2,000 counselors. Memberships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, with applications opening mid-October and closing Jan. 29, 2027.

To qualify, applicants must:

  • Be employed as a public-school counselor, serving students in grades six through 12.
  • Work at a U.S. public school designated as Title I or a community-based organization that operates within a Title I public school.
  • Not have an active NACAC membership paid for by their school or district.
  • Agree to NACAC’s ethical practices in college admission.

The NACAC Public School Counselor Membership Fund expands on the association’s priority to help create equitable access to opportunities. There are approximately 23,500 public high schools in the U.S. and about half are Title I-eligible. Supporting these school counselors ultimately means greater support for some of the country’s lowest-income students.

Just last month, NACAC leadership and members advocated for school counselors on Capitol Hill.

To a crowd of Congressional staffers and education champions, Pérez called NACAC members “agents of opportunity,” as they help young people see possibilities for themselves that they may not yet be able to see. They help students understand their options for meaningful postsecondary education and employment, navigate complex systems, and secure opportunities for social and economic mobility. When that happens successfully, these students enter the workforce, contribute to the nation’s economy, and help drive the future of the country.

Jennifer Nuechterlein, a college and career counselor at Hunterdon Central Regional High School (NJ) and a panelist at the Capitol Hill Briefing, shared with the crowd all that school counselors are responsible for.

“One of the many hats we wear is to help students find their best-fit,” said Nuechterlein, adding that could mean earning a college degree, attending a trade or technical school, or entering the workforce. “Students want individualized support and attention. I liken it to going to the doctor … you don’t want to share your symptoms in a room of 100 other people. But with caseloads of 500, 600, even 700 students per one school counselor, sometimes there are shortfalls and that can be really detrimental for some students and their futures.”

Title I schools have some of the largest student-to-counselor ratios in the country, with 17 percent of U.S. high schools having no school or college counselor at all, according to NACAC research that illuminates the need for greater funding for counselors.

NACAC is grateful to its generous donors for their support of counselors and the college admission counseling profession.

More information about how to apply for the Public School Counselor Membership Fund is coming soon.