Local School District Implementation of the

Maine K-12 Comprehensive School Counseling Program

Shelley ReedMaine Department of Education

207-624-6637shelley.reed@maine.gov

Elena PerrelloSAD #63Eddington & Holden Schools207-843-6010elena_perrello@yahoo.com

OverviewThe

American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has collaborated to create a

National Model for School Counseling Programs to connect school counseling with

current educational reform movements that emphasize student achievement and

success.

Defining School Counseling

A profession that focuses on the relations and interactions between students and their school

environment with the expressed purpose of reducing the effect of environmental and institutional barriers that impede student

academic success.

The Education Trust

RationaleBy aligning a counseling program

with the school’s mission and school improvement plan, professional school counselors:

• partner as leaders in systemic change

• ensure equity and access

• promote academic, career and personal/ social development for every student

Historical Problems in School Counseling

Programs Lack of legitimization Lack of consistent identity Limited or no involvement in reform

movements Variation in roles from state to state and

site to site Non-school counselor responsibilities

Historical Problems Have Continued

Lack of basic philosophy Poor integration Insufficient student access Inadequate guidance for some students Lack of counselor accountability Failure to utilize other resourcesSource: From Gatekeeper to Advocate. Transforming the Role of the School Counselor, Hart,

P.J. & M. Jacobi (1992)

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)

When schools fail to clearly define the counselor’s role...

Trends in Education

Education reform movement Accountability Standards-based movement High-stakes testing Achievement gap – equity and access Block grants Emphasis on improving school safety Vouchers Performance, not entitlement

Current School Counseling Trends

ASCA’s Nt’l Standards for SC Programs Transforming SC Initiative (Education Trust – Dewitt Wallace) Increased number of state models Results-based school counseling Legislation for SC programs ASCA’s National Model

Chapter 125 Section 9.02 Checklist

General Requirements The District has a K-12 Comprehensive Guidance

Program The delivery and development of the program

has been a coordinated effort of unit staff The Comprehensive Guidance Program is

included in the Comprehensive Education Plan The program met the implementation date of

2006-2007

Focus of Barrier Removal

Student-focused

System-focused

CONTENT AREAS

Academic DevelopmentCareer Development

Personal/Social Development

STUDENT-FOCUSED SCHOOL COUNSELING

Academic Development“Learning to Learn”

Develop skills for learning Achieve school success Relate academics to life success

Career Development“Learning to Earn”

Develop career awareness

Identify career goals Relate school to work

Personal/Social Development“Learning to Live”

Acquire self-knowledge Acquire interpersonal skills Acquire personal safety skills

Services to be provided to all students

Structured developmental experiences presented systematically through classroom and group activities to enhance the ability of students to meet the PEI content standards

A program of activities and planned strategies to help students manage their career development consistent with Career content standards and performance indicators.

GUIDANCE

The help all students receive from parents, teachers, counselors, community members and others to assist with educational and career development.

COUNSELING

The help some students receive from credentialed professionals to

overcome personal and social problems

that interfere with learning.

Student-Focused School Counseling:

Traditional vs. Comprehensive School

Counseling Program

Traditional Reactive Remediation Unstructured Individual counseling What counselors do Some students

Comprehensive Proactive Prevention Structured Individual & group What students learn All students

Why Student Focused Activities?

SOUND SCHOOL COUNSELING

DIFFERENT CHOICES

ACHIEVEMENT IMPROVES

How do you create a school counseling program that is:

•Connected to the mission of the school?

•Aligned with the student achievement goals?

Guiding All Kids: SYSTEMIC SCHOOL COUNSELING

ASCA National Standards and Local IndicatorsAcademic DevelopmentAll 4th graders will describe their personal learning style.All 8th graders will develop a 4-yr high school course plan.All 10th graders will describe postsecondary education options.

Career DevelopmentAll 5th graders will describe their career interest areas.All 8th graders will describe the career majors offered at the HS.All 9th graders will conduct an information interview.

Personal-Social DevelopmentAll 3th graders will demonstrate a conflict mediation skills.All 6th graders will demonstrate anger management techniques.All 11th graders will demonstrate consensus building skills.

ASCA Standards + Local Indicators

Making the Transition to a Comprehensive Program

1. Planning the program & building the foundation Where are we now? Where do we want to be?

2. Designing the delivery system How do we get to where we want to be?

3. Implementing & evaluating the program How will we know when we get there?

Goals to Address

Encourage parental involvement Remove barriers which impede academic

and life success Provide information and appropriate

referral sources Provide management activities that

establish, maintain and enhance the program including: research, evaluation, programming, supervision, staff training and development and communication

ASCA National Model

Comprehensive SC Program Components

Section 1. Foundation Cover Beliefs Mission K-12 Group identified standards-

local, state, national School Board signed approval letter

Section 2. Delivery of Services

Create narrative statements of how services will be delivered to:

Individuals Groups And classrooms

Time Task Analysis Pie Chart

Time Task Analysis Betsey Day 2 9/13/05

14%

25%

18%

14%

29%

GuidanceCurriculum

Individual Planning

Responsiveservices

System Support

Non-Guidance

Sample Distribution of Time

Delivery SystemComponents Guidance Curriculum

Individual Student Planning

Responsive Services

System Support

Elem.% MS % HS%

35-45 25-35 15-25

5-10 15-25 25-35

30-40 30-40 25-35

10-15 10-15 15-20

Section 3. Management

Action Plan-organization that manages the program

Calendar overview of activities Agreement of counselor activities Evaluation of student success Advisory Council

Local Needs Assessment Activity

Counselor group selects standards for K-12 program in each of the 3 domains

Create survey for students, parents, and staff to help identify the level of importance of those standards for them

Plan the method of processing the results

Action Plan

Guidance lesson content Domain and Parameter of Essential

Instruction Standard Description of activity Grade and timeline for completion of

activity Person (s) responsible for delivery Evaluation methods: pre-post tests,

demonstration of competency or product

Section 4. Accountability

Identify data to be collected and the purpose it will serve

Results Reports Program audit-determine strengths

of program and items in need of strengthening

School Counselor Accountability: A MEASURE of

student successMEASURE developed by Carol Dahir,

Ed.D Mission-connect your mission to the

school’s mission Element-What critical element are

you trying to impact? Analyze-the data element(%, raw

scores, aggregate, disaggregate)

A MEASURE of Student Success

Stakeholders-unite to develop strategies to impact the data element

Results-Restate you baseline data. State where your data is now. Did you meet your goal? What strategies has a positive effect? Which strategies should be changed?

Educate-Educate others to your efforts. Show how the work of the school counselor is connected to the school mission.

Appendix

Include items the K-12 group will use such as

Code of ethics Confidentiality Forms Resources

Benefits for Students

Guarantees every student receives the benefit of guidance services.

Ensures equitable access to educational opportunities.

Increases the opportunity for counselor-student interaction.

Benefits for Counselors

Provides a clearly defined role that is related to student achievement.

Supports guidance as an integral component of the total school program.

Provides a tool for program management and accountability.

Benefit to Teachers

Promotes teaming to increase student achievement

Supports the learning environment Increases collaboration with

counselors and teachers

Benefits for Administrators

Creates a structured program with specific guidance content.

Provides a means for measuring effectiveness of guidance programs.

Enhances community image of the guidance program.

Guiding All Kids:SYSTEMIC SCHOOL COUNSELING

Curriculum

For ALL Kids

Aligned with Achievement GoalsData-Driven

Delivered Systemically