ASCA

What ASCA does

ASCA (American School Counselor Association) is a private nonprofit professional membership association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, that provides professional development, publications, research, and advocacy to professional school counselors. It serves more than 40,000 members across 52 chartered state and territory associations (all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), making it the preeminent national body dedicated exclusively to the K-12 school counseling profession. Its core intellectual property is the ASCA National Model — now in its fifth edition, released in 2025 — a standardized framework for school counseling programs that is implemented across thousands of K-12 schools and underpins the RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) recognition system.

The association's product and service portfolio is delivered primarily through digital channels. ASCA University, an online learning management system powered by MapleLMS, hosts 19 self-paced specialist training courses each granting 5 CEUs/50 contact hours, with most courses priced at $99 for members and $249 for nonmembers. Adjacent offerings include ASCA On Air (webinars and video), the I Hear You Say podcast, the ASCA Scene online member community, ASCA School Counselor Magazine, the peer-reviewed Professional School Counseling journal, and 40+ position statements. A graduate credit partnership with Lindenwood University allows course completers to convert ASCA U work into up to 27 graduate credits per semester. The annual conference (2026 scheduled for July 11-14 in New Orleans) operates in both in-person and virtual formats.

ASCA's business model is diversified across membership dues (Professional, Student, Retired, First Year Professional, and Life tiers), paid and free specialist training courses, conference registration, publications and merchandise sold through the ASCA Store, liability insurance administration, and co-marketing alliance partnerships with organizations such as College Board, Sallie Mae, SCUTA, UTI, and NABTU. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The association is governed by an elected Board of Directors and operated by approximately 17 staff members, with leadership including Executive Director Jill Cook, Deputy Executive Director Eric Sparks, and Assistant Deputy Executive Director Amanda Fitzgerald.

Name

ASCA

Legal name

American School Counselor Association

Website

https://schoolcounselor.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ASCA is a nonprofit professional membership association serving 40,000+ K-12 school counselors across the United States through standards, certification, training, publications, and advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Coordination, Recognition & Meta-Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA)

Keywords

• School counseling association
• Professional development
• Membership organization
• School counselor certification
• Education standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from individual school counselors and state/territory associations. Various membership types include Professional, Student, Retired, First Year Professional, and Life memberships.
2. ASCA U Specialist Training Courses: Online self-paced professional development courses priced at $99 for members and $249 for nonmembers, with some courses free. Each course provides 5 CEUs/50 Contact Hours. ASCA National Model Specialist is priced higher at $109/$259.
3. Publications and Merchandise Sales: Sale of books, toolkits, frameworks, ASCA School Counselor Magazine subscriptions, Professional School Counseling Journal, and branded merchandise through the ASCA Store.
4. ASCA Annual Conference: Registration fees for the annual conference, with the 2026 conference scheduled for July 11-14 in New Orleans for both in-person and virtual attendance.
5. Graduate Credit Partnership: Graduate credit offered through Lindenwood University partnership for additional fee, reported monthly upon course completion.
6. Liability Insurance: Proof of insurance services provided to members as a membership benefit.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ASCA is a national professional membership association for school counselors that delivers professional development, peer-reviewed publications, ethical standards, advocacy, and a standardized program framework (the ASCA National Model). It monetizes through individual and state-association membership dues, ASCA U specialist training courses on an online LMS, an annual conference, the RAMP and ASCA-Certified School Counselor recognition programs, and publications/merchandise sold through the ASCA Store.

Product overview

ASCA (American School Counselor Association) is a professional association offering a comprehensive ecosystem of products and services for school counseling professionals. The core offerings include the ASCA National Model framework (now in its fifth edition) for standardizing school counseling programs, ASCA University powered by MapleLMS providing online professional development, and ASCA U Specialist Training programs delivering 18+ self-paced specialist courses. The product portfolio also includes ASCA On Air (video/webinar platform), ASCA School Counselor Magazine and Professional School Counseling Journal (publications), RAMP recognition program, the ASCA Annual Conference, ASCA Scene online community, ASCA Portals membership system, and various standards/position statements. These offerings work together to support school counselors' professional development, program implementation, and advocacy efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ASCA National Model: The ASCA National Model provides a framework for school counseling programs
• ASCA University
• ASCA On Air
• ASCA Portals
• ASCA Scene
• Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP)

Products and services

• ASCA University Self-paced online learning management system that delivers ASCA U Specialist training courses, webinars, and continuing education content (CEUs/Contact Hours) for practicing school counselors.
• ASCA U Specialist Training Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• Schools implementing RAMP show improved college and career readiness outcomes compared to non-RAMP schools (per North Carolina research study)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• College BoardcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Partner providing support for key strategic initiatives and helping ASCA deliver event experiences. College Board offers college readiness resources and tools for school counselors.
• Sallie MaecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Partner supporting ASCA's mission through college planning tools and resources for industry professionals. Sallie Mae provides financial planning resources relevant to college admissions counseling.
• SCUTA (School Counselor Universal Training Academy)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Partner providing training and professional development resources for school counselors.
• UTI (Universal Technical Institute)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Partner supporting career and technical education initiatives relevant to school counseling programs, particularly in skilled trades careers.
• Encourage MeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Partner providing support resources for the school counseling community.
• NABTU (North America's Building Trades Unions)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAlliance Partner supporting career development initiatives in the building trades for school counseling programs.
• Lindenwood UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGraduate credit partnership allowing ASCA U course completers to earn 3 graduate credits per course toward continuing education requirements. ASCA reports grades monthly; Lindenwood allows up to 27 graduate credits (8 courses) per semester.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Kappa Delta Pi: Kappa Delta Pi is an international education honor society that, like ASCA, engages university educator-preparation programs and practicing K-12 educators through membership, publications, and professional development — an adjacent but enabling organization in the same ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• National Education Association (NEA): NEA is the largest U.S. K-12 education employee association with over 3 million members, serving a much broader constituency (including school counselors in many states) and competing for member dues, advocacy influence, and professional development share.

Direct peers

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): ASHA operates an analogous professional association model for school-based speech-language pathologists and audiologists, including membership, ASHA University continuing education, CCC certification, and an annual convention — directly comparable in structure, revenue mix, and stakeholder dynamics to ASCA.
• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP): NASP is the closest comparable K-12 specialist professional membership association, serving school psychologists with a near-identical model: membership dues, an annual convention, peer-reviewed journal, specialist training, and ethical/standards-setting authority for the school psychology profession.
• American Counseling Association (ACA): ACA is the broader counseling professional association, directly overlapping ASCA's domain of professional school counselors. It competes for the same counselor membership base, publishes competing journals, and runs parallel continuing education and conference programming.
• National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP): NAESP is a K-12 education leadership membership association with a comparable operating model (membership, conferences, publications, professional development) and overlapping district-level buyers who make purchasing decisions about school counseling programs.
• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): NBCC issues the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential, directly competing with ASCA's ASCA-Certified School Counselor designation for counselor certification mind share, employer recognition, and continuing education revenue.
• American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA): AOTA operates an essentially identical professional association model for school-based occupational therapists: membership dues, NBCOT-aligned certification, specialist continuing education, an annual conference, and a peer-reviewed journal — making it a near structural twin to ASCA.
• Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP): CAEP accredits educator preparation programs at universities, including school counselor preparation programs that ASCA also recognizes through its ASCA-Recognized School Counselor Preparation Program. The two organizations operate adjacent accreditation/recognition regimes for the same university programs.
• American Association of School Administrators (AASA): AASA is the K-12 education leadership membership association serving superintendents and administrators — the same buyer pool that funds school counselor positions and purchases RAMP, ASCA U, and district-wide training from ASCA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ascatweets
• Facebookfacebook.com/77096899005
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-school-counselor-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/weareasca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ASCA