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Bonnie Rubenstein headshot

Bonnie Rubenstein

Professor (Clinical), Chair Counseling & Human Development & Director Urban Teaching & Leadership Program

Counseling & Human Development

EdD, University of Rochester (counseling and human development)
MS, The College at Brockport, State University of New York (guidance and pupil personnel services)
BS, The College at Brockport, State University of New York (psychology)
CAS, The College at Brockport, State University of New York (educational leadership)

Biography

Bonnie Rubenstein is a tireless leader in the counseling field. She previously served as director of counseling for the Rochester City School District (RCSD) for more than two decades before her full-time faculty position at the Warner School.  At RCSD, she implemented college- and career-readiness programs and comprehensive school counseling programs for 34,000 students district-wide and supervised 91 school counselors.  Prior to this district leadership position, she taught at the elementary, undergraduate, and graduate levels and was a counselor in elementary, middle, and high school. Rubenstein also worked as a high school assistant principal and acting principal in both urban and suburban districts.

At Warner, Rubenstein trains the next generation of school counselors in the transformative school counseling model, based on national (ASCA) and state (NYSSCA) models, while emphasizing their role as agents of change and advocates for equity and access.  Her teaching focuses on urban education, which is particularly salient if counselors are to reduce the effects of environmental and institutional barriers that impede student academic success.  In her courses, students are asked to analyze and disaggregate data elements and subsequently explore issues of equity—the systemic barriers that restrict urban school students’ access to and acquisition of educational achievement, especially for traditionally underserved groups.

Rubenstein’s scholarship interests include the impact of grief and loss on students and families, the impact of divorce on teenagers’ home lives and school skill development, and college and career readiness.  She has published articles in all of these areas and developed teacher/counselor resource materials, including manuals, videos, and software.  Her interest in urban education has led to the creation of three school counseling laboratories, where cohorts of practicum and internship students are placed in urban settings.