Mueller Charter School School Counseling Program: Classroom Guidance Results Nathan Locke Marcela Munoz

What did we do? Presented in all four 5 th grade classes (120 students)Presented in all four 5 th grade classes (120 students) Two part lessonTwo part lesson –45 minutes –Two consecutive days November and December of 2007November and December of 2007

Guidance Curriculum Topics –Developing a positive body image Influence of peers and media Recognizing negative and positive messages Identifying positive characteristics in yourself Learn strategies to deal with verbal bullying and conflict in school.

Goals of the Lesson Two of the goals of this lesson were: Two of the goals of this lesson were: 1.To increase students’ acceptance of their body. 2.Acquire strategies to deal with verbal bullying and conflict in school.

National Standard Personal / Social A Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect themselves and othersStudents will acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect themselves and others

Student Competency A1.1 - develop attitudes toward self as a unique and worthy person. A1.4 – understand change as a part of growth. A1.10 – identify personal strengths and assets. A2.3 – recognize, accept, respect, and appreciate individual differences.

(California Healthy Kids Survey, 2007) Why are we teaching this? 47% - Students being teased because of the way they look 49% - Students who do not feel comfortable with their bodies

Research tells us  “Students who are teased about their body can become isolated from friends and school and become vulnerable to risky behaviors.” (CHKS,2007)  The Search Institute (2008) has found that students who grow up to be responsible and caring adults have many of the 40 research-based developmental assets. Two that we built on are: 1.Personal conflict resolution skills 2.A positive self-image

Research says –Achievement Related Data: Poor conflict resolution skills and risky behaviors leads to behavior referrals. –Achievement Data: Which in turn may lead to failing classes and/or dropping out of school.

What do they BELIEVE? Pre 59% Disagreed or Strongly Disagreed with the statement Post 77% Disagreed or Strongly Disagreed with the statement “I believe real beauty should be measured by the shape of models and actors in magazines and on television.”

Belief Question: “I believe real beauty should be measured by the shape of models and actors in magazines and on television.”

What do they BELIEVE? Pre 35% of students strongly agreed Post 52% of students strongly agreed “ I feel comfortable with the shape of my body”

Attitude question: I feel comfortable with my body

Skills Question 49% identified proper strategies 85% identified proper strategies Pre Post Students were given a conflict case scenario and then asked to identify one correct strategy to deal with the situation.

Students who can identify anti-bullying strategies This is a 73% increase!

Results: Behavior Referral Rates This is a decrease of 47% !

Implications / Limitations Using developmentally appropriate visuals. Having the lesson over two consecutive days. Pre-Post test contained idioms that students may not have understood and could not be translated. Students showed that they already knew some of the definitions that we spent time during the lesson re-teaching.

Recommendations Align the objectives and activities of the lesson to grade level standards. Give pre-post test to a sample group before administering to the class. Consider a school wide individual differences celebration. Consider a school wide conflict resolution program.

Next Steps We need to wait for Spring 2008 CHKS data results. We will analyze and report the results ASAP.

The school counseling program is contributing in a meaningful way to the personal development and academic achievement of all students. Thank you for your support

“Our Children Will Change the World”

Reference California healthy kids survey: Technical report for Mueller Charter (Spring 2007). WestEd.