In education, there is often a disconnect between theory and practice. Urban school counselors must balance the reality of their daily work with the standards set by the ASCA National Model (2019), widely regarded as the benchmark for K-12 school counseling best practices. This study aimed to describe urban school counselors? perceptions of their actual practices in relation to their designated roles and expected behaviors. This qualitative case study employed semi-structured individual interviews, a focus group interview, and a document review to capture the perceptions of 10 current urban school counselors about their role expectations, daily practices, and the ASCA National Model. There is a gap in the literature regarding the perceptions of urban school counselors and their beliefs about the ASCA National Model. This study sheds light on their experiences. The findings highlight the absence of a school counselor secretary and practice within an inverted multi-tiered model as factors in the urban setting that shape the urban school counselor role, diverging from current best practice theories. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the disparity between the actual daily practices of urban school counselors and their prescribed roles contributes to a decreased sense of professional self-efficacy and increased burnout. This study has implications for the role definition of urban school counselors and calls for a re-examination of current models of practice in the urban setting, better informed by practitioner voices. Educational leaders, school districts, counselor education programs, and urban school counselors may benefit from these findings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]