2. What is CREST?
Counselors Reinforcing Excellence in Texas (CREST)
Sponsored by the Texas School Counselor Association (TSCA)
Awarded to school counseling programs meeting CREST qualifications
A continuous improvement document used to demonstrate effective communication and a commitment to obtaining results
Highlights the accomplishments of your counseling
CREST

3. CREST The Seven Areas of CREST
1. Principal’s Comments 2. School Counseling Advisory Council 3. School Climate and Safety 4. Student Results 5. Major Achievements 6. Community Partnerships/Resources 7. Parent Collaboration
CREST

4. CREST Why CREST? Advocates for the school counseling program
Demonstrates continuous improvement data for the campus
Reinforces the school counselor’s role in the academic, personal/social and career development of students
Links campus program to state, national and legislative standards
Provides a tool for accountability
CREST

5. CREST Winners CREST 2005 - 5 Schools 2006 - 11 Schools

6. CREST Category 1: Principal’s Comments
The principal addresses the question…:
“How does the school counseling program impact student success?”
Preparing this section:
Limit text to one or two short paragraphs
CREST

7. Category 1: Principal’s Comments Rubric
1a. A statement of the vital role of the school counseling program in student success and school safety
1b. An example of how the school counseling program contributes to student success and school safety
1c. A statement of support for implementation of the ASCA national model and/or Texas state model of the comprehensive counseling program
1d. A statement explaining how the school counseling program supports the campus improvement plan and initiatives
CREST

8. CREST Category 2: School Counseling Advisory Council
Address the question…:
“How does the council guide the school counseling program?”
Preparing this section:
A school counseling advisory council or the school improvement team can serve in this capacity.
It should be a representative group of stakeholders.
Counselors, Faculty, Students, Parents & Community Members
CREST

9. Category 2: School Counseling Advisory Council
Rubric
2a. A statement on the purpose of the school counseling advisory council or school improvement team
2b. A list/chart providing information on the school counseling advisory council or school improvement team to include name and positions
2c. A representative group of stakeholders who are part of the school counseling advisory council or school improvement team
CREST

10. Category 2: School Counseling Advisory Council
Rubric
2d. A statement on the process for selecting committee members
2e. The number of times the council meets (minimum of twice a year)
2f. An example of an agenda item
2g. How the School Counseling Advisory Council’s feedback/input guides the school counseling program
CREST

11. Types of Data

12. Process Data CREST Number of participants involved
Number of times the intervention took place
Evidence that an event occurred
Example: 30 students participated in six classroom lessons.
CREST

13. Perception Data
Asks what participants think they know, believe or can do
Collected through surveys that measure self-reports of attainment of competencies, attitudes and beliefs and perceived gains in knowledge
Includes: pre-post tests, needs assessments, program evaluation surveys, feedback surveys
Example: 59% of fifth graders feel safe at school.
CREST

14. Results or Outcome Data
Shows the impact of an intervention
Reports the extent to which the program has had a positive impact on students’ ability to utilize their knowledge, attitudes and skills to effect improvement in achievement, attendance and behavior.
Collected from multiple sources
CREST

15. Results/Outcome Data continued…
Includes:
Promotion rates
Attendance rates
Number of discipline referrals
Grade-point averages
Student graduation rates
Example: 79% of the senior class was accepted into a four-year college
CREST

16. Quiz on Types of Data CREST
1. Forty-five students participated in the essay writing workshop.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

17. Quiz CREST 2. Eighth-grade retention rates were reduced by 10 percent.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

18. Quiz
3. Eighty-five percent of the students who participated in the honors boot camp passed at least one honors course.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

19. Quiz
4. Seventy-five percent of the fourth-grade students know how to report bullying.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

20. Quiz
5. Two hundred parents participated in the parent education workshop.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

21. Quiz
6. Sixteen percent of sixth-grade students feel unsafe on the bus.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

22. Quiz CREST 7. Sixty-eight percent of juniors took the SAT or ACT.
A. Process
B. Perception
C. Outcome
CREST

23. Quiz
8. Ninety-two percent of the students who participated in the study skills group improved their grades.
Process
Perception
Outcome
CREST

24. Category 3: School Climate & Safety
Examples:
Programs/activities which increase student "connectedness" to school campus/district and improve school climate
Programs/activities which teach students' conflict resolution, empathy, and mediation techniques for solving conflicts
Programs/activities that reduce incidents of violence at the campus with an emphasis on prevention and early detection
Programs/activities that provide age-appropriate/developmental instruction on violence prevention, bullying, dating violence, suicide prevention and interpersonal violence prevention
Many of these are legal mandates that can be found in: District Legal Policy, Title IX, Family Code (see Texas Council on Family Violence)
Prevention and response to acts of hate violence, bias-related incidents and discriminatory attitudes
CREST

25. Category 3: School Climate & Safety
Address the question…:
“How does the school counseling program respond to issues of school climate and safety?”
Preparing this Section:
This section requires at least a minimum of one graph and/or chart regardless of how many interventions provided.
pie chart/graph, bar graph, etc.
You can use Microsoft Excel, Numbers by Apple, or Open Office.org to plug your data into a variety of graphs or charts.
Process, perception and results data are acceptable.
CREST

26. Category 3: School Climate & Safety
Rubric:
3a. A statement(s) regarding the relationship of the school counseling team to school climate and safety
3b. A minimum of two activities/programs/interventions implemented by school counselors that impacted school climate and safety
3c. A graph or chart depicting how school counselor activities directly relate to improvement of school climate
3d. Written explanation of each graph and/or chart representation
3e. An explanation of the school counselor’s role in the School Safety Plan and/or District Crisis Plan
CREST

27. Category 4: Student Results
Address the question…:
“How does the school counseling program impact student success?”
Preparing this Section:
Use data to evaluate and improve school counseling programs
Results of the data are based on the outcomes of students, not on what school counselors do
Results are not the number of students seen, the number of meetings attended or the number of referrals to other agencies or programs
Only student outcome results positively impacted by the school counseling program will be considered for a CREST Award
CREST

28. Category 4: Student Results
Examples:
Our counseling team will decrease the number of bullying incidents in grades K-5th by 20% from the 1st through 4th nine weeks for the school year xyz.
Our counseling team will reduce self-reported test anxiety of Juniors who did not pass the exit level TAKS by 25% from the 1st administration to the next administration.
Our counseling team will assist in reducing by 20% the number of 8th grade students that failed two or more core classes from the first nine week grading period to the fourth nine week grading period.
CREST

29. Category 4: Student Results
Rubric:
4a. A statement explaining the importance and utilization of student results and their relationship to the Texas and/or national standards
4b. Two measurable goal statements, including:
data point(s)
population
time frame
4c. A rationale for each goal selected
4d. A list and explanation of school counselor interventions
CREST

30. Category 4: Student Results
Rubric: 
4e. Two graphs:
Explanation for each graph connecting the School Counseling Team activity to the results shown
Graphs must be titled and labeled
CREST

31. Category 5: Major Achievements
Address the question…:
“What are the major achievements of the school counseling program?”
Preparing this section:
Include your school counseling team’s major achievements by delivery system
Include overall percentage of time spent in each delivery system annually
CREST

32. Category 5: Major Achievements
Delivery System
Overall
Percentage of Time
Major Achievements
Guidance Curriculum
Responsive Services
Individual Student Planning
System Support
CREST

33. Category 5: Major Achievements
Examples:
Guidance Curriculum- guidance lessons attributed to an increase in the number of students taking the SAT/ACT by 20%
Responsive Services- we now offer six student support groups that meet a total of 8 sessions
Individual Student Planning- 100% of the 8th grade students completed their four year plan
System Support-the counseling staff provided staff development to teachers on the following topics: school counseling program, child abuse, and financial aid and postsecondary options
Following the table format, include other major achievements your school counseling team has received
CREST

34. Category 5: Major Achievements
Rubric:
5a. One or more major achievements cited and explained for Guidance Curriculum
5b. One or more major achievements cited and explained for Responsive Services
5c. One or more major achievements cited and explained for Individual Student Planning
5d. One or more major achievements cited and explained for System Support
CREST

35. Category 5: Major Achievements
Rubric:
5e. Percentage of time provided for each delivery system (there is no penalty if the percentage of time is not aligned to the state recommendation)
5f. A minimum of two other achievements and a clear description of the relationship between the school counseling program and the achievement
5g. The required chart for delivery system, percentage of time spent, and major achievement
CREST

36. Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Address the question…:
“How do Community Partnerships and/or Resources impact student success?”
Preparing This Section:
This section explains business, industry, civic, social service organizations and/or community partners involved with the counseling program.
CREST

37. Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Examples:
Academic: Partners in Education companies serve as mentors and/or tutors for students.
Career: XYZ organization serves as speakers for career day.
Personal/social: ABC church donates coats for students.
CREST

38. Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Rubric:
6a. A lead paragraph on the importance of partnerships
6b. A minimum of two (2) community partnerships and/or resources listed for the Academic Domain
6c. A minimum of two (2) community partnerships and/or resources listed for the Career Domain 
6d. A minimum of two (2) community partnerships and/or resources listed for the Personal/Social Domain
CREST

39. Category 6: Community Partnerships/Resources
Rubric:
6e. Provide examples of how these community partners and/or resources enhance the quality and effectiveness of the school counseling program for the Academic Domain
6f. Provide examples of how these community partners and or resources enhance the quality and effectiveness of the school counseling program for the Career Domain
6g. Provide examples of how these community partners and or resources enhance the quality and effectiveness of the school counseling program for the Personal/Social Domain
CREST

40. Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Address the question…:
“How do you collaborate with parents to impact student success?”
Preparing This Section 
Describe how parents are engaged in guidance curriculum, responsive services, individual planning and system support.
CREST

41. Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Examples:
Guidance Curriculum:
How do you encourage your parents to provide input to the curriculum and reinforce skills taught through your guidance lessons?
Example: needs assessment sent to parents to determine topics of guidance lessons that will be presented during the school year.
Responsive services:
How do you work with parents regarding their children’s issues to include one-on-one counseling, group counseling, and referrals?
Example: parents are contacted regarding an emotional issue and resources provided through a required parent conference.
CREST

42. Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Examples:
Individual Planning:
How do you provide parents information regarding their child’s academic and career planning?
Example: Parents are provided with an interpretation of test scores.
 System Support:
How do you provide parents information?
Example: Parents are provided with monthly workshops addressing parenting skills/ information.
CREST

43. Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Rubric:
7a. A statement and examples of how your school counseling program engages parents in guidance curriculum
7b. A statement and examples of how your school counseling program engages parents in responsive services
 7c. A statement and examples of how your school counseling program engages parents in individual planning
CREST

44. Category 7: Parent Collaboration
Rubric:
7d. A statement and examples of how your school counseling program engages parents in system support
7e. An explanation of how the school counselor communicates to parents throughout the year about your school counseling program
7f. A statement of how you provide parents an opportunity to view counseling materials as mandated in Texas Education Code (TEC) (b)
CREST

45. Category 8: Technical Details
Rubric
Document Header:
8a. Include this statement, "A continuous improvement document sponsored by the Texas School Counselor Association" in the header of the CREST document
8b. Include names of all the counselors and their contact information in the header
8c. Include "CREST (current school year)" in the document header
8d. Include the school's name, address, and school logo in the document header
CREST

46. Category 8: Technical Details
Format of the overall CREST document:
8e. Categories 1-7 are placed in sequential order
8f. Content has a clear and consistent voice throughout the document
8g. Format is consistent and flows throughout the document
8h. There are no more than (two) typographical, grammatical or punctuation errors
8i. Acronyms are spelled out the first time used in the document
8j. Font used for text and graphs must be:
10 or 12 points for text
8-points or higher for graphs
Times New Roman or Garamond font
CREST

47. Category 8: Technical Details
FORMAT OF THE OVERALL CREST DOCUMENT
8k. Graphs are clear, significant, labeled and aligned with the written text
8l. Document fits on one page and is front and back on paper size - 17 X 11 (folds like a magazine format)
APPLICATION PACKET REQUIREMENTS
80. Submitted online application form (see online application at
8p. Twelve (12) color copies of the CREST document
8q. Two copies of the CREST application signature pages
School Counseling Advisory Council or School Improvement Team
Principal
Superintendent
CREST

48. The CREST committee will…
Notify applicants CREST document was received upon submission
Inform applicants the status of the CREST award via by December 15th
No questions will be answered regarding the status of the application prior to this date
CREST

49. Scoring of the CREST Document
Each CREST document will be judged by a team of professionals in the school counseling field throughout Texas. The scoring continuum is as follows:
 First Review
If the document receives NO MORE than a total of two “No’s” in the eight categories, it has achieved CREST distinction.
If the application receives MORE than two “No’s” in the eight categories, it is sent for a second review.
CREST

50. Scoring of the CREST Document
Second review
If the document does not earn CREST distinction after the second review, it is sent for a third review.
CREST

51. CREST Awards/Recognitions
Awards will be presented at the School Counselors Professional Growth Conference February 2018
Winners will be awarded:
A CREST banner
Two free tickets per school to the CREST celebration
CREST

52. CREST Resources Application and power point
TSCA website:
To enhance your CREST document review:
The ASCA National Model: A Framework For School Counseling Programs
A Model Comprehensive, Developmental Guidance & Counseling Program For Texas Public Schools, Pre-k-12th Grade Program Development Guide
CREST

53. CREST Additional Resources Jill Adams, M. Ed., CSC Stephanie Lerner
TSCA CREST Chair
Counseling Coordinator, Lewisville ISD
CREST Committee Member
TSCA Emerging Leader
School Counselor, Del Valle ISD
CREST