Transcript Role of School Counselor in Student Achievement

Partners in Achievement
The Integral Role of the School Counselor
in
Student Achievement
Barbara Blackburn, MA, LPC
WV Department of Education
Coordinator for School Counseling
Objectives
 Understand the changing role of the school
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counselor
Understand the new school counseling policy
Overview ASCA’s National Model, the foundation
for WV Policy 2315
Examine benefits of the school counseling
program
Examine tools to help evaluate the school
counseling program
Set school goals to move towards
implementation of Policy 2315
People have wondered…
What do school counselors DO?
When schools fail to clearly define the
counselor’s role...
School administrators,
parents with special interests, teachers
or others may feel their agenda
ought to be the school counseling
program’s priority.
The results often lead to confusion and
criticisms when they are disappointed.
(Carolyn Maddy Bernstein, 1995)
What You Believe...
 As a group write 3 job responsibilities that your table
believes are the function of school counselors
 Post your 3 job responsibilities on the chart paper under
the appropriate area
Why Have A Program?
 The school counseling program is an essential component of
the educational experience of all students
 School counseling programs work with the whole student and
ties academics to career plans focusing on personal/social
interests of individual students
The School Counseling
Program…
 Aligns with the mission of your school
 Uses data to demonstrate the need for change
 Focuses on improving student achievement
 Connects the school counseling standards with the
academic learning standards
 Provides specific student competencies to achieve the
school’s goals
 Collaborates and teams with colleagues
WV’s Policy 2315 is aligned with
ASCA’S National Model
A Framework for School Counselors
It is an organized way for school counselors
to be able to do their jobs and better meet
the needs of ALL students
Student
Success
ASCA National Model
Foundation
School Counseling Program
Mission
To focus on academic, career and
personal/social development to ensure
that every student benefits from a
program that is comprehensive in
scope, preventative in design and
developmental in nature.
ASCA’S National Standards
are statements of what all students
should know and be able to do as
result of participating in a school
counseling program
Academic Development
Standard A.
Students will acquire the attitudes,
knowledge and skills that contribute to effective
learning in school and across the life span
Standard B.
Students will complete school with
academic preparation essential to choose from a
wide range of substantial post-secondary options,
including college
Standard C.
Students will understand the
relationship of academics to the world of work, and
to life at home and in the community
Career Development
Standard A.
Students will acquire the skills to
investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of
self and to make informed career decisions
Standard B.
Students will employ strategies to
achieve future career success and satisfaction
Standard C.
Students understand the relationship
between personal qualities, education , training, and the
world of work
Personal/Social Development
Standard A.
Students will acquire the attitudes,
knowledge and interpersonal skills to help them
understand and respect self and others
Standard B.
Students will make decisions, set goals
and take necessary action to achieve goals
Standard C. Students will understand safety and survival
skills
Management System
Management
System Accountability
 Agreements
 Use of Time
 Advisory Council
 Calendars
 Use of Data
 Results Reports
• Monitoring Student
Progress
• Closing the Gap
 Action Plans
• Guidance Curriculum
• Closing the Gap
• Impact Over Time
 School Counselor
Performance
Evaluation
 The Program Audit
Analyze School Data
Work hand in had with administrators to
look at the overall school data to guide our
program:
 WESTEST Scores
 ACT Scores (HS)
 Attendance data
 Drop out rate
 GPA’s or DFI Lists
 Course enrollment patterns
 Discipline referrals/suspensions
 Parent involvement
Is Your Program Planned?
25%
75%
Role of School Counselors
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
 Plan, implement and evaluate a comprehensive
developmentally age-appropriate and sequential school
counseling program
 Oversee activities of clerical, paraprofessional and
volunteer personnel related to the program
 Coordinate with other stakeholders to plan delivery of
programs
Delivery System
Guidance Curriculum
 Consists of structured developmental lessons
 Designed to assist students in achieving competencies
 Presented systematically
 Program delivered using a collaborative model
Role of School Counselors
GUIDANCE CURRICULUM
 Coordinate guidance curriculum in the domains of
academic, career and personal/social development
for ALL students
 Collaborate with teachers and community resources
in the delivery of guidance related curriculum
• Assure curriculum
• is delivered by most qualified professional
• the most advance technology is integrated
• developmentally appropriate
• content is accurate
• reflects current student needs
Role of School Counselors
ASSESSMENT
 Interpret assessments, observations and other appraisal
results to students, parents and faculty
 Utilize other sources of student data for assessment
purposes
 Help students make academic and career decisions
based on assessment data
• Deliver through classroom guidance lessons and in
individual sessions
Responsive Services
 Services for student with a severe (or perceived
serious) crisis are usually short term in nature
 Activities to meet students’ immediate needs:
• May be provided directly - Individual, group
counseling, classroom guidance
• May be provided indirectly - through
consultation, peer facilitation, or outside
referral
Responsive Services
 May address:
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Peer pressure
Family relationships
Grief and loss
Child abuse
Dropout prevention
Dating relationships
Bullying
Harassment
Conflict resolution
• Personal identity
issues
• Suicide and
accidents
• Attendance
problems
• Motivation and
achievement issues
• Substance Abuse
• Eating Disorders
• Self Mutilation
Role of School Counselors
RESPONSIVE SERVICES
 May act as a facilitator between school/student and
resources agency
 May facilitate or serve on a school/community crisis
response team
 May deliver direct services to students though individual
or group counseling or classroom guidance
Individual Planning with
Students
 Activities coordinated by counselors that
assist students in developing personal goals
and future plans:
Academic/career/personal/goal setting
• Five Year Academic Plans
• Career planning (30 year Plan in 5 year
increments)
• Post Secondary Plans
• Interpretation of and application of
assessment information
• Parental and school staff involvement
Role of School Counselors
COUNSELING
 Individual students
 Small groups of students
 Guide individuals and groups of students in developing
academic, career and personal/social plans
 Brief…. NOT therapy
 Referrals to appropriate specialists
System Support
 System support includes activities that establish,
maintain and enhance the total school counseling
program:
• Professional development
• Consultation
• Coordination
• Advisor/Advisee Programs, etc.
• Career/College/Postsecondary Programs
• Arena Scheduling
• Senior Projects/Portfolios/Interview Expositions
• Scheduling
• Collaboration and teaming
• Data analysis and interpretation
• School improvement plan development and implementation
Role of School Counselors
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Pursue continuous professional development
 Collaborate with other counselors and other staff to deliver
professional development to school staff
 Membership and leadership in counseling related
professional organizations is strongly recommended
 Maintain a professional library
 Read and do research to remain up to date on current
trends and issues
Delivery System
Elementary
Guidance
Curriculum 35-45%
Individual
Planning 5-10%
Responsive
Services 30-40%
System
Support 10-15%
Middle
High School
25-35%
15-25%
15-25%
25-35%
30-40%
25-35%
10-15%
15-20%
Accountability
Use of Data
 Analyze and use data to examine and improve
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student outcomes
Establish and assess measurable outcomes for
counseling programs
Connect the school counseling standards with the
academic learning standards
Identify specific student competencies to achieve
your school’s goals
Use school-based data to support decision
making
Use data from surveys, interview, focus groups,
and needs assessments to address student needs
The old question was…
“What do counselors do?”
The new question is…
“How are students different
because of the school
counseling program?
From Entitlement… to Performance
From a program that:
 Focuses generally on
the number of
activities
 Measures the amount
of effort
 Attends to the
process of doing work
 Works to maintain the
existing system
To a program that:
 Focuses on outcomes
and improved results
 Measures impact related
to goals
 Attends to goals,
objectives, and
outcomes
 Changes and adapts to
be more responsive
Source: McGowen, P. & Miller, J., “Changing the Entitlement
Culture,” The American School Board Journal, August 1999, p.43
From Entitlement… to Performance
From counselors who:
 Focus on good
intentions
 Talk about how hard
they work
 Generally feel little need
to change their behavior
or approach
To counselors who:
 Focus on
accomplishments
 Talk about effectiveness
 Know their future rests
on accomplishments
 Communicate goals and
objective
Source: McGowen, P. & Miller, J., “Changing the Entitlement
Culture,” The American School Board Journal, August 1999, p.43
What Will The Results Be?
 Every student will benefit from the school counseling
program
 Every student will acquire attitudes, knowledge and
skills as a result of the nine standards and
competencies
 Every student will be better prepared for transitions from
grade to grade and to life after high school
Counselor's Role
Advocacy
Collaboration
Leadership
Systemic
Change
Advocacy is…
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Identifying unmet needs and making a
commitment to changing the status quo
Pleading for the rights of another
Pursuing a cause beyond oneself
Actively supporting others who cannot
support themselves
Being a risk taker for others
(Bailey et al., 2003; Eriksen, 1997; Fiedler, 2000)
Systemic Change… Bill Shore
“We tend to think that creating change
requires an array of external
resources and support: acts of
Congress, great sums of money, large
standing armies, technology, vast
research capabilities or powerful
lobbyists, relationships and networks.
Systemic Change… Bill Shore
Of course, all have their place, But
often, the most sweeping change
results form a single individual with
none of those at his or her
command, but instead with the
courage to follow his or her
conscience.”
Leadership & Systemic
Change
 School Counselors are trained to work as leaders along
side administrators to make SYSTEMIC change
necessary to facilitate programs to create success for
ALL students
 School Counselors’ professional development allows
them to come back and lead change within the SCHOOL
SYSTEM
(example - Anti-Bullying Programs)
Role of School Counselors
COLLABORATION
 Collaborates with school and community to bring
resources to students
 Utilize the referral processes to assist students and
others to access special programs and services
 Provides and exchanges information with staff, family
and community
 Use staff, community resources and parents to plan,
deliver and implement new programs
Collaboration
Effective Working Relationships with:
 Teachers
 Administrators
 Parents & Guardians
 Community
 Colleges
 School Business
 Other Post Secondary
Partners
 Military
 Agencies
Institutions
 Advisory Teams
Leadership
 School Counselors are trained to work as a leaders
along side administrators to make SYSTEMIC change
necessary to facilitate programs to create success for
ALL students
 School Counselors professional development allows
them to come back and lead change within the school
Benefits for School
 Provides a team effort to address students’ needs
 Provides program structure with specific content
 Promotes academic, career and personal development
with core curriculum
Benefits for Administrators
 Integrates school counseling with the academic mission
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of the school
Uses school data to help guide change and school-wide
programs
Helps advance student achievement
Provides a program structure with specific content
Assists administration to use school counselors
effectively to enhance learning and development for all
students
Provides a means of evaluating school counseling
programs
Benefits for Teachers
 Provides an interdisciplinary team effort to
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address students’ needs and educational goals
Provides skill development for teachers in
classroom management, teaching effectiveness
and affective education
Provides consultation to assist teachers in their
guidance role
Fewer behavioral issues when all students are
given the same skills
Barriers to learning are decreased for many
students and teachers can focus more on
instruction
Benefits for Students
 Prepares students for the challenges of the 21st
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Century through academic, career and
personal/social development
Relates educational program to future success
Facilitates career exploration and development
Develops decision-making and problem-solving
skills
Assists in acquiring knowledge of self and others
Enhances personal development
Improves academic achievement
Benefits for Students
Cont’d
 Assists in developing effective interpersonal
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relationship skills
Broadens knowledge of our changing world
Provides advocacy for students
Encourages facilitative, cooperative peer
interaction
Fosters resiliency factors for students
Assures equitable access to educational
opportunities
Benefits for Parents
 Provides support for parents in advocating for
their child’s academic, career and personal/social
development
 Involves parents in their child’s long-range
planning and learning
 Increases opportunities for parent/school
interaction
 Enables parents to have access to school and
community resources
Benefits for School
Counselors
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Provides clearly defined role and function
Eliminates non-counseling related functions
Allows direct access to all students
Creates a tool for program management and
accountability
 Enhances the role for the school counselor as a
student advocate
 Ensures involvement in the academic mission of
the school
 Uses collaboration to assure delivery of school
counseling programs to all students.
Margaret Mead
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
people can change the world.
Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
Questions and Comments
Contact Information
Barbara Brady Blackburn, MA, LPC
School Counseling Coordinator
WV Department of Education
Bldg. 6, Room 221
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East
Charleston, WV 25305-0330
Phone: 304-558-2348 Fax: 304-558-3946
[email protected]